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A man who suffered with heartburn and acid reflux for years, which he initially blamed on stress and long working hours, was later told by doctors he had cancer. Dale Atkinson was 35 years old when he was diagnosed with oesophageal adenocarcinoma and was told he only had months to live.

Oesophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is a common, aggressive cancer of the lower oesophagus. It is linked to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and Barrett’s oesophagus, a condition where the normal lining of the oesophagus changes into tissue similar to that of the intestine.

"Looking back, the warning signs had been there far longer than I realised," he said. Dale, who is the owner of Peak Health and Fitness, says as early as 2019, he visited his GP with symptoms of acid reflux, including a burning sensation in his throat, acid rising at night and stomach cramps.

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He claims he was prescribed omeprazole and was "reassured". But by 2023 and into 2024, his symptoms became more serious. "I began experiencing pain after eating, difficulty swallowing, and significant weight loss," he said.

"In October 2024, my life was about to change forever, and not in the way I expected. I was living in Burghfield Common near Reading with my partner Ana, our two young boys and our giant Great Dane puppy. Life was busy with family, work and plans for the future. But underneath all of that, my body had been trying to warn me that something wasn’t right.

"Soon, I was diagnosed with oesophageal adenocarcinoma. Doctors confirmed it was stage four, had spread to multiple lymph nodes, and was incurable and inoperable. I was offered palliative treatment.

Dales says: "For years, I suffered with heartburn and acid reflux, which I blamed on stress and long working hours. Looking back, the warning signs had been there far longer than I realised."

When things "worsened" between 2023 and 2024, Dale claims he felt he wasn't getting as much support from doctors as he wished he had, "so I stopped pushing as hard as I should have", he said. He added: "By 2023 and into 2024, the symptom had become more serious."

He went on: "I started to experience pain after eating, swallowing felt strange, as if food wasn’t going down properly, and I lost a significant amount of weight." According to the NHS, there are many possible symptoms of oesophageal cancer, but they might be hard to spot. They can affect your digestion, such as:

• having problems swallowing (dysphagia)
• feeling or being sick
• heartburn or acid reflux
• symptoms of indigestion, such as burping a lot

Other symptoms include:

• a cough that is not getting better
• a hoarse voice
• loss of appetite or losing weight without trying to
• feeling tired or having no energy
• pain in your throat or the middle of your chest, especially when swallowing
• black poo or coughing up blood (although these are uncommon)

Recalling how difficult life was for him at the time, Dale said: "At the same time, my partner Ana was hit with her own devastating diagnosis, lung cancer. In early October 2024, she underwent major surgery after a small carcinoma was found in her upper right lung. She was recovering at home while also caring for our two young boys. Meanwhile, my own symptoms carried on getting worse."

Dale says he had an endoscopy test on October 15, 2024, which was the same day as his youngest son’s 1st birthday. During the procedure, the consultant found a tumour in his lower oesophagus. "In that moment, everything changed," he said.

"Soon afterwards, I was formally diagnosed with oesophageal adenocarcinoma. Then, on October 31, 2024, doctors confirmed I had stage four disease. It had already spread to multiple lymph nodes, including disease in the upper abdomen and around my aorta.

"I was told it was incurable and inoperable, and offered palliative treatment. The diagnosis came just as we were celebrating my youngest son’s 1st birthday, and everything we had planned collapsed overnight."

As Dale's life carried on, he was suddenly struck by another tragedy. "My mum died suddenly on Sunday October 27, 2024. We found out the following morning, which was also my eldest son’s 3rd birthday. We still put up the balloons, sang songs and celebrated, smiling through the heartbreak," he recalled.

"At that point, life felt like it was hitting our family again and again. But somewhere in the middle of it all, I realised I had a choice. Accept the prognosis or fight."

Choosing to fight back

"I chose to fight. But I wanted to fight strategically. I started researching everything about my cancer, sought second opinions, built a team around me in November 2024, and had advanced genomic testing done to understand fully what was driving my tumour and which treatments might work best," Dale said.

"For the first time, I felt like I had a map instead of a diagnosis. One of the earliest useful results from that testing was a chemo-sensitivity analysis, which came back in time to help guide my treatment decision. Until then, I had seriously considered declining chemotherapy.

"I had been told it might only buy me a few extra months at best, and I was weighing that against the possible impact on my quality of life. But based on those results, and after discussions with my team about likely effectiveness, I decided to go ahead with CAPOX chemotherapy and pembrolizumab immunotherapy as part of my treatment plan, starting in December 2024."

Dale says his chemotherapy treatment was "extremely tough". He described the fatigue he felt as "crushing", and he experienced neutropenia, which is where your immune system shuts down - it meant a small infection could then become life-threatening.

He added: "Oxaliplatin caused severe cold sensitivity, and our family had to isolate at home to avoid infection and limit contact with others. It was exhausting and terrifying at times. But I knew this was the part of the fight.

"Along with conventional treatment, I began making major changes to support my body. Nutrition became a huge focus. I switched to a whole-food, organic, very low-carb, keto-inspired vegetarian approach, cutting out refined sugar and heavily processed foods."

Where Dale is today

Dale says the biggest support system behind everything has been his partner, Ana. "Despite recovering from her own cancer surgery, she trained as a phlebotomist so she could help with parts of my treatment at home," he said. "She tracked medication, organised appointments, helped manage my treatment routine and kept our family running."

Since being told his cancer was incurable, Dale's latest scans have shown progress. He said: "There has been a major regression in metastatic disease, and my primary tumour has shrunk significantly from its largest recorded size. It’s not remission yet, but it is real progress."