Dad's usual skin symptom for rare cancer that affects 1,000 each year
A "healthy" father has been told that he has terminal cancer after visiting his doctor with itchy skin.
Dad-of-two Yasir Masood, 42, from Glasgow, was diagnosed with the rare form of bile duct cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, which is difficult to spot. But one of the symptoms to look out for is itchy skin.
Bile duct cancer is usually found in people over 65 and can be linked to certain medical conditions. According to Cancer Research UK, bile duct cancer occurs when abnormal cells in the bile duct divide and spread in an uncontrolled way and it affects more than 1,000 a year. The cells can ultimately spread to other healthy parts of the body, such as the gallbladder and pancreas.
Yasir's wife, Yasmine, has told how her family has been "devastated" by the news which has come as a shock due to his healthy lifestyle. "We are devastated. He is a healthy guy who doesn't drink or smoke. He eats well and looks after his body. I have multiple illnesses, I have been ill since I was born and am in and out of hospital all the time," she told GlasgowLive: "Seeing that and then thinking how does somebody like him get such horrible cancer?
"Our lives have completely changed. My children are used to seeing me not being well but now they have two parents who aren't well, it's very hard for them. He is up and down physically but mentally he is strong, but has his down days."
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Yasir pictured with his familyBile ducts are small tubes that connect different organs, including the liver and gallbladder. They also act as a part of our digestive system, they allow a fluid called bile to go from the liver and gallbladder into the small intestine, where it helps digest the fats in food. The NHS states you’re more likely to be diagnosed with bile duct cancer if you’re over the age of 65, and already have certain medical conditions, such as abnormal bile ducts, long term swelling in the bowel (ulcerative colitis) or bile ducts, a parasite in the liver (liver flukes), bile duct stones and liver cirrhosis.
Symptoms of bile duct cancer
- Itchy skin
- The whites of your eyes turning yellow or your skin turning yellow, which may be less obvious on brown or black skin (jaundice)
- Darker urine and paler stools than usual
- Loss of appetite or losing weight without trying
- Feeling generally unwell
- Feeling tired or having no energy
- High temperature, or you feel hot or shivery
- Feeling or being sick
- Pain in your tummy
After a procedure, Yasir was offered chemotherapy treatment which only works for 10% to 15% of bile duct cancer patients. Yasmine told GlasgowLive: "She said it's a possibility that because it's rare, the chemotherapy treatment will make him weaker but might also take his life. She said we can try it and have a three-month extension of life or go for quality of life.
Yasir's daughters Nawaal and Zoya"We chose a better quality of life for him and he is now in palliative care." However, there's hope that the loving dad could live longer through Dendritic Cell Therapy - a treatment involving vaccines that aim to generate tumour-specific immunity in patients with advanced cancer. The treatment costs £30,000, so his family has started a GoFundMe to help raise more money.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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