Family left devastated as dad dies from rare cancer six days after his wedding

One family were left devastated after their father died from a rare form of cancer just six days after his wedding.

On 4 May, Chris McGinnis, from Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, married his beloved Mel.

However, months before, the father-of-two had been suffering from symptoms of tiredness, loss of appetite and lower back pain.

Chris, 35, was subsequently diagnosed with Metastasis Cholangiocarcinoma, a rare form of bile duct cancer, in early February.

His tumours on his liver were deemed inoperable by doctors and his diagnosis was terminal.

Doctors wanted Chris to get chemotherapy to extend his diagnosis for an additional year, but due to the limited benefits and side effects of the treatment, it was decided that he wouldn't continue the treatment.

According to a family friend, he 'doted' on Mel and his daughters, Onora and Nuala.

GoFundMe

Natasha Walker, who has been a friend of Chris and Mel's for 12 years, told NottinghamshireLive: "He was just the funniest, nicest guy, ever.

"He doted on Mel and the girls and everything was about providing for them and taking care of them.

"He worked so hard for them. This has come completely out of the blue. The family are devastated.

"Onora is coming up to four, she was a daddy's girl through and through, and she's finding it difficult. She keeps saying things that are breaking everyone's hearts.

"He pulled the energy out of, I have no idea where, for that day [their wedding day]. After that, it was a very quick decline.

"It would be nice for the girls to have something in his memory. It's not just having the unexpected costs of the funeral."

A GoFundMe has since been set up by Natasha and another close friend, Claire Kudryk, in memory of Chris and to offer help to his two daughters.

GoFundMe

Natasha added: "It's really to raise as much as possible to leave the girls a trust fund in their daddy's name because that's all he would have wanted, he would have wanted them to have been taken care of for the future, and to have that time to grieve.

"We want there to be something there for the girls in the future.

"As a friendship group, we all feel very helpless.

"It's good for our focus to be on helping to raise funds for them as much as we can."

Natasha then urged others to get themselves checked, even if it's 'the smallest thing'.

"If you're feeling unwell in any way, go get checked out. Chris was healthy and was really young and in a matter of months, he's not here," she added.

You can donate to the fundraiser here.