Bath mother's pain after son 'needlessly' died of stomach cancer

A mother from Bath has told of her anguish after her "charming and kind" son died from a stomach cancer she believes could have been prevented.

Rebecca Wilcox, 76, lost her 40-year-old son, Zak, a software engineer, to stomach cancer three months after he was diagnosed.She has started a campaign to raise awareness about a £7 test that could detect a bug which is a strong risk factor for stomach cancer, that she believes Zak picked up when backpacking in India.Ms Wilcox said: "Zak was so kind-hearted, he did so much for me. There are no words to describe how terrible it is to lose him.

"It is complete agony, it's the most awful thing that can happen to any mother, losing a child. To bring a life into this world, and for it to be taken away so suddenly."

Zak died on March 9, 2021, just three months after he was told his stomach pain was incurable stomach cancer.

After experiencing mild indigestion for a couple of months Zak's symptoms worsened, forcing him to go to A&E with severe pain.As a 19-year-old, Zak had taken a gap year and travelled to India which is where he could have picked up Helicobacter Pylori (H. pylori).

It is a bacteria that can be spread through contaminated food or water, or from person to person through direct contact with saliva, vomit or stool.

Ms Wilcox said: "When he went to India he did pick up a nasty stomach infection. He was just getting over it when he got back.

"He'd been staying in cheap hotels but appeared to make a good recovery and never had any problem until the end."There was nothing for years, then in October 2020 he started getting some pain in his stomach. It finally took him to A&E where they did a scan and said to him it was probably cancer.

"Three weeks later he was back for endoscopy which confirmed it.

"They told us it was terminal, that he might have two to five months and he lasted for three - he was so incredibly brave. He was cheerful to the end.

"It was devastating to process, he just had a little bit of indigestion. He had no idea. He ended up being in tremendous pain but was supported incredibly by his family, friends and especially his girlfriend."

She continued: "If only he had been warned about the dangers of this HP bug, which the WHO has declared a Class 1 carcinogen, he would certainly have taken a test for it and would still be here now.

"Some simple information would have saved his life. But there was no information and he is gone.

"On behalf of Zak, I want to let others know that a cheap £7 test for HP could save their lives."

Most people don't realise they have H. pylori infection because they never get sick from it and it's not clear why many people don't have symptoms.

• When signs or symptoms do occur with H. pylori infection, they are typically related to gastritis or a peptic ulcer and may include:- An ache or burning pain in your stomach (abdomen)- Stomach pain that may be worse when your stomach is empty- Nausea- Loss of appetite- Frequent burping- Bloating- Unintentional weight loss

Make an appointment with your health care provider if you notice any signs and symptoms that may be gastritis or a peptic ulcer.

• Seek immediate medical help if you have:- Severe or ongoing stomach (abdominal) pain that may awaken you from sleep- Bloody or black tarry stools- Bloody or black vomit or vomit that looks like coffee grounds

Ms Wilcox said: "The H. pylori virus can cause substantial damage and it can take years and years to show up. He was tested to see if it was hereditary cancer and it wasn't.

"I wish more families knew of the danger, that more people who travel to those parts of the world knew to test themselves when they got back.

"They only test you if you have symptoms but most people never develop them."I want part of Zak's legacy to be getting more awareness of the dangers of H. pylori out there, I want more families to know the risk, young people are setting off on their travels this time of year and I want them to go get checked when they come back.

"It's a £7 test that could save your life."Another huge part of Zak's legacy is his work as a software engineer. He helped design software called Canute which enables blind people to read text on the internet by converting it to braille.

Ed Rogers, a colleague who works at Bristol Braille said: "Since his death, his work has continued to spread Braille throughout the world.

"We have been sending the Canutes that he designed to scores more blind people and their use has inspired people to take courses they otherwise would not have felt able to take, read books they would otherwise not have read.

"Most recently we have been using his work, as the programmer on the project, to convert the Canute into a tool for blind programmers to follow in his footsteps."In a tribute, he added: "We will remember Zak as a hugely talented colleague, a man you could trust absolutely, and, most importantly, a dearly missed friend.

"During his time on the team Zak taught himself the fundamentals of Braille and dedicated a great deal of time to understanding how his work could improve the lives of blind people all over the world.

"He didn’t need to do this. He could have been paid ten times as much elsewhere and gotten a lot more sleep in the bargain."But he did; he did all the crazy late hours and thankless rewrites. All so that people could read whatever they wanted to read, as they wanted to read it, without barriers.

"He only did it to put books into people's hands. Not that Zak would have put it like that, naturally."We have received many messages of deepest sympathy from around the world. Most importantly, messages of thanks for his life and work. You can see all their names on his tribute page.

"They include New College Worcester school for blind students, the Helping Uganda Schools charity, Braille music companies and musicians, the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, the Louisiana Association for the Blind, to name a few."A personal regret of mine is that I didn’t spend more time with Zak in the pub, after work, where a man usually so reserved would often open up and hold forth with wit and sparkle.

"How Zak coped with mortality was remarkable, moving and said more about his character than I can express."The last message I had from Zak was him asking after my health. He was determined not to burthen others where he could bear that burthen himself.

"Our workshop, and our lives, will be immeasurably poorer without Zak’s dry humour, his decaf coffee measured to within a tenth of a gram, and his remarkable talents.

"Our colleague Steph put it best: “Zak was a guy you could trust”."In Rebecca Wilcox's Change.org petition, which has almost 200 signatures, she has called on people to get the government to spread awareness about H.pylori to anyone travelling to parts of the world where it is prevalent.

The petition reads: "I ask the Government to ensure that the NHS and appropriate government-backed bodies include warnings about the risks of catching HP, and the availability of cheap tests, on all sites providing Health Advice for Travellers, and publish these widely wherever possible throughout the NHS."Zak's ashes were spread on Little Solsbury Hill, near Bath, as it was his favourite place.