Apple Store manager, 34, died after rare tumour strangled his appendix over FIVE YEARS and grew to the size of a domestic cat 

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A man died after his 'irritable bowel syndrome' turned out to be a 6kg tumour the size of a domestic cat.

Nicky Boardman, of Dartford, could have been struggling with the growth for five years before he was eventually diagnosed with cancer of the appendix in May 2013.

However, it was only confirmed after he collapsed outside the Apple store he managed in Bluewater shopping centre, Kent, two months earlier.

Remembered: Nicky Boardman was diagnosed with cancer of the appendix in May 2013

Nicky, who was just 34 when he died, first started experiencing stomach pain and needing regular toilet visits towards the end of 2012.

The following January, blood tests indicated an inflammation somewhere in his body – but it was not clear where. His GP planned to organise repeat testing, but weeks later Nicky collapsed outside work with a major rectal bleed.

Having lost a significant amount of blood, he was hospitalised for a week, where he was given blood transfusions.

His widow, Kerry, now 37, recalled: 'It was a very worrying time as we didn't know why he had collapsed or what the final diagnosis might be.'

At that stage, medics believed it was an inflammatory bowel condition, like ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.

Happier times: Nicky pictured with GP wife Kerry and their son Ethan at Legoland in June 2013

False hope: Initially, doctors thought he was suffering from a inflammatory bowel condition

But when medication for ulcerative colitis did not help, Nicky – dad to Ethan, now six - feared it was something more serious.

'Nicky didn't fit the pattern for cancer,' Mrs Boardman - a GP - continued. 'The age group of people normally affected are in their 60s, so although we mentioned it, we never expected that diagnosis.'

However, a biopsy in April 2013 at Kent's Fawkham Manor Hospital revealed a strange lesion in Nicky’s bowel.

'I knew it was cancer when we spoke to the consultant, because he mentioned a lesion, but still we never thought we would be told it was incurable,' she said. 

'I remember sitting with the oncologist and I just felt like I was hearing him through water.' 

Dedicated: He underwent six months of chemotherapy and surgery to removed his bladder

Treatment: Nick pictured in hospital shortly after starting his six-month chemotherapy

In May 2013 further scans confirmed a large tumour filling Nicky's pelvis.

Mrs Boardman added: 'We knew all the way through that his treatment was palliative and symptom control and buying time.'

Nicky received six months of chemotherapy from May 2013 for bowel cancer, which reduced the tumour for them to consider. But, after suffering agonising pain, he was admitted to Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford in November 2013.

Further investigations revealed that Nicky had a very rare cancer of the appendix.

Doctors believed the tumour – which by this point weighed nearly a stone - had been growing inside him and effectively strangling his appendix for five years. 

In January 2014 Nicky was transferred to specialists at the Basingstoke Colorectal clinic, who performed a 12-hour operation to remove the tumour that was by this point the size of a large domestic cat.

Young love: The couple pictured shortly before Nicky was diagnosed with a very rare cancer

Keeping on: Mrs Boardman and her son are now raising money for the hospice which helped

They also removed his peritoneum, part of his prostrate, part of his bladder and part of his ureter.

The right side of his large bowel was removed as well as part of his small bowel and his abdominal cavity was filled with a heated chemotherapy solution, to kill any remaining cancer cells.

The bladder and ureter were attached back together and a stoma collected waste from the large bowel.

Released from hospital in April 2014, despite having to use a wheelchair, Nicky was determined to make the most of family life.

'He really held on to hope. He would hear ‘years’ when anyone discussed the time he had left and I would hear ‘months.’ He needed to stay positive, he couldn't give up and I certainly wasn't about to give up on him.' Mrs Boardman added.

'He kept going for me and Ethan. He was determined to be a brilliant dad to Ethan.'

But Nicky continued to deteriorate and although they did not know exactly how long he had left, his hospital stays were more frequent and Kerry knew there wasn't much more time together. 

Nicky agreed to go into a hospice and died on March 8, 2015.

'It was heartbreaking,' Mrs Boardman mused. 'We still miss him a lot, but we just take each day as it comes. I'm constantly making reference to Daddy. Ethan looks like him and acts like him, so I can't help but mention him a lot.'

Although Kerry and Ethan miss Nicky every day, they have received support from Ellenor Hospice – a charity funded by Comic Relief to support families through the loss of a loved one.

She said: 'They are very much part of helping people to live with terminal cancer or other life limiting conditions. They are just a tremendous support, you know you can just pick up the phone and know that someone will help you.

'We’ve been raising money for Comic Relief to help give back. Ethan’s school will be raising money for them this year as everyone will be wearing red.'