Man whose 'bug bite' turned out to be terminal cancer only found out after making request to doctors
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: SWNS
A man was diagnosed with terminal cancer after initially believing he was the victim of a nasty insect bite on his back.
In March 2023, Christopher Capstick was diagnosed with stage four melanoma and was given just a 15 percent charge of surviving the disease.
The 41-year-old sustained a 'bug bite' while on vacation in Greece in 2022 and was in and out of the doctors for the six months after his trip as the 'bite' would not disappear.
Healthcare professionals told the Brit that it was a cyst, but the fact the mark was changing colour and size worried Christopher.
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After much pestering from Christopher's side, doctors removed what they thought was a cyst. However, they soon realized it was actually a tumour.
Charity worker Christopher said: "When they eventually removed what they thought was the cyst, it came out as pieces of string and mush and within 48 hours they diagnosed me with melanoma.
"My wife and I had just got married the year before and I was sat there with my pregnant wife being told that I have a 15% chance of surviving - it was just devastating.
"All I wanted to do was to get my arm strong enough to hold Nylah, now two, when she was born.
"I have three young kids and that's a massive motivation for me - it's what drives me to get to a stage that all my kids remember who I am. It feels like more of a mental battle rather than a physical battle."
As well as the changes in color and size of the lump on his back, the fact Christopher was constantly developing 'bugs and colds' made him think something wasn't quite right.
"The doctors said it was a cyst and over six months I kept going back, but they kept saying it was a cyst," he told Sell Us Your Story.
"They eventually removed it when I asked and they realised it wasn't a cyst and it was actually a tumour.
"And because of the delay it had spread."
Christopher spent 13 months on immunotherapy after his melanoma diagnosis and was even cancer-free at the start of 2025.
The Brit and his wife Lauren decided to book a number of vacations with their three children, Isabella, six, Mila, 10, and Nylah, which included a trip to Florida.
But that was sadly canceled after doctors discovered six tumours on Christopher's brain and another six on his body.
The cancer was terminal and Christopher was given 12 months to live.
Despite that, Christopher has received some good news, with doctors finding only one tumor is left on his brain.
"I was a week away from having brain surgery to laser them but the final scan before showed five had amazingly disappeared - they said they'd never seen that before," he added.
Isabella, Christopher's daughter, has even wrote a book for children dealing with a parent or loved one being seriously ill.
A GoFundMe has been set up to bring Daddy's Little Monsters into every cancer centre.