A 38-year-old father from St. Neots, England, Steve Burrows, tragically lost his life just two months after he began experiencing severe back pain, which turned out to be a symptom of aggressive rectal cancer. His story highlights the importance of vigilance regarding health concerns and seeking medical attention.
Burrows first noticed discomfort in his lower back in late July. Believing the pain was due to aging, he attempted to relieve it through yoga-inspired stretches. His former partner, Bethan Kester, shared, “He started getting some twinges in his lower back and he was trying to do yoga-style stretches to alleviate the pain.”
Dedicated to his family, Burrows, who was the father of Briannah, 14, and Lilly, 7, as well as a stepfather to Jaiden and Aleah, both 15, often made light of his age. Kester recounted, “He’d make jokes all the time about getting older. He’d say to my kids, ‘It’s just old age,’ and I said, ‘You’re only 38.’”
However, the nature of Burrows’ pain was more serious than he initially realized. According to Kester, there were times the pain felt like a dull ache, interspersed with episodes where it would spike intensely. “He’d be on his knees on the floor hugging the sofa stretching out because he thought it was sciatica,” she explained.
As weeks went by, his condition deteriorated. The pain escalated to a constant level, prompting Burrows to visit a doctor about a month after it started. The diagnosis was devastating: the back pain stemmed from tumors pressing down on his nerves. Kester recounted the emotional moment he revealed that news to her: “He was devastated, and he phoned me, and he was crying his eyes out, he was really scared.”
Despite the shock of the diagnosis, Burrows tried to remain optimistic. Kester described his initial response, stating, “Once the initial diagnosis had sunk in, he was very much like ‘I’m going to fight this and we’re going to do this.’” Unfortunately, that hope was short-lived. Further tests revealed that his cancer had advanced to stage 4 and had spread to his liver, a grim turning point. “Once they said it was on his liver, he did know it was serious and that it would take him, but we just didn’t have a clue how soon,” Kester added.
Burrows succumbed to his illness just one month after being diagnosed. Kester shared, “It completely ravaged his body before anybody could take it in, and it took us all by surprise.” The aggressive nature of the cancer shocked his loved ones, sparking Kester to create a GoFundMe page to cover funeral costs. “It was such an aggressive cancer,” she stated. “Within a month of being diagnosed to passing away, we just didn’t have the time to sort anything out. We weren’t expecting it to be this quick.”
In the aftermath of this loss, Kester urged others to prioritize their health. In a heartfelt message, she stated, “I would just like to say that if there is something going on with your body that isn’t your normal to please just get it checked.”
She detailed Burrows’ experience, highlighting the importance of second opinions in the medical field: “Steve took himself to the hospital with back pain, and the doctors took his blood and tested it, and the results came back clear as they were looking for inflammation. Two weeks later, he was being told he has rectal cancer that had spread onto his liver. So if you aren’t happy with the results you get and your body is still telling you something is wrong, please get a second opinion. Don’t keep putting things off or assuming you know what it is.”
