'I thought I had indigestion before they said I had nine months to live'

'I thought I had indigestion before they said I had nine months to live'A Kent dad was given just nine months to live after his indigestion turned out to be something much more seriousCommentsNewsSteven Smith Content Editor08:29, 13 Apr 2026Updated 08:34, 13 Apr 2026View 3 ImagesLawrence Fox first noticed something was when his wrong when food started coming straight out of him(Image: Lawrence Fox/SWNS)A dad was handed just nine months to live after his indigestion turned out to be a much more serious diagnosis. Lawrence Fox, 67, first realised something was amiss when food began coming 'straight out' of him in July 2024.‌He said: "I wasn't digesting my food properly, it was basically just coming straight out of me. One minute I'd want to go to the toilet, the next minute I'd have nothing, depending on when I'd eaten. I had the runs, my stools were very soft, and as soon as I was eating, within the next couple of hours I was going to the toilet."‌The former construction manager's symptoms were initially attributed to a condition he had experienced previously, diverticulitis, where the intestine becomes infected or inflamed. Lawrence, from Canterbury, Kent, was prescribed a course of antibiotics for the suspected infection, but when his symptoms failed to improve, he was told to undergo an endoscopy.‌However, when the procedure, performed in August that year, didn't reveal anything, he had to wait until November for a CT scan. Making matters worse, Lawrence's mother was dying of sepsis – meaning he had attributed some of his symptoms, such as losing a stone in weight, to stress.He said: "At the time, I was more worried about my mum than I was. I was just glad I was getting it checked out."View 3 ImagesLawrence Fox before his illness(Image: Lawrence Fox/SWNS)‌However, in early December, shortly after losing his mother, Lawrence received the devastating news that doctors had discovered a 75mm gr...