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A 41-year-old father from Bromborough was heartbreakingly given months to live after discovering what looked like an insect bite he had on holiday turned out to be an aggressive form of skin cancer.
Chris Capstick first noticed the mark on his back while he was in Greece getting married to his wife Lauren, 30, back in 2022. He initially believed it was an insect bite, but became concerned when it began changing colour and growing.
Over the following six months, Chris repeatedly visited his GP. He was initially told the mark was a cyst, but after it continued to change, he returned to the surgery and asked whether it could be removed.
The lump was eventually taken out in February 2023, as Chris had reported feeling uncomfortable at work. However, doctors became concerned that it was not a cyst and sent it away for further testing.
Chris was subsequently diagnosed with stage four melanoma, a type of skin cancer which had spread beyond the original site. It had spread closer to his lymph nodes.
He said he was told he had just a 15 percent chance of surviving the disease. At the time, he was sitting with Lauren, who was pregnant with their third child.
Chris later underwent surgery to remove his lymph nodes and spent 13 months receiving immunotherapy. He was briefly told he was cancer-free at the beginning of 2025.
However, just six months later, doctors discovered six tumours in his brain and a further six elsewhere in his body. Chris was then told his cancer was terminal and that he could have between 10 and 12 months left to live, as reported by the Liverpool Echo. It's now been just over a year since Chris was told that.
He told the Echo: "It was a massive shock for me and the family. We try to stay positive. I'm trying everything."
Chris has since undergone different treatments, including red light and oxygen therapy. He was recently admitted to hospital after experiencing side effects from treatment and said his liver enzymes are currently too high for him to continue treatment.
Despite the prognosis, Chris remains hopeful. Five of the six tumours found in his brain have disappeared, leaving one remaining tumour.
He said he currently has no clear prognosis for how long he has left to live.
The family also turned their experience into a way of helping other children understand serious illness.
Isabella, their six-year-old daughter, created a children's book called Daddy's Little Monsters after her parents struggled to explain her father's condition to her and her siblings.
The book was developed through art therapy over six months. More than £630 has been raised to help print and distribute copies to cancer centres, hospices and Maggie's Centres around the UK. Impressively, the book has sold close to 300 copies!
Copies have already been donated to Arrowe Park Hospital, Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Maggie's Wirral and Lancaster Oncology.
Chris said expanding the project nationally would "mean everything", describing the book as part of his legacy.
