A DAD-of-four died after mistaking his cancer for flu. Mike Randell, 56, had been feeling " really tired " after what he thought was a run-of-the-mill bout of the seasonal illness . 11 Mike, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer after suffering 'flu-like symptoms' Credit: Sophie Randell 11 The dad-of-four wrote a letter to each of his children to read after he died Credit: Sophie Randell But when his condition failed to improve, he went to his GP and discovered he had several masses on his bowel and liver.
On the day before he was due to retire, further tests revealed he had stage four bowel cancer. Mike, from Hythe, Hampshire, died surrounded by his family on October 10, 2022. His four children - Matthew, 33, Emily, 31, Luke, 30, and Sophie, 28 - then discovered he had written each of them a letter to read after he was gone.
READ MORE ON BOWEL CANCER NEW ANSWERS Diet is ‘main driver’ of bowel cancer risk, as study identifies worst foods CURE HOPE Bowel cancer 'could be cured' with immune boosting drug instead of surgery In them, he described how proud he was of the people they had become, and that he had given Sophie's boyfriend Ash Humphrey his blessing to propose. After Mike's "shock" death, his family want to raise awareness of the lesser-known symptoms of bowel cancer , and to fundraise for Cancer Research UK (CRUK). Sophie, 28, a children's nurse, said: "He had none of the traditional bowel cancer symptoms when he was diagnosed and only got checked after he struggled .