A 37-year-old father of four has been devastated after learning his severe heartburn was in fact terminal cancer.
Paul Walker, from Lisburn, County Antrim, was told by medics this week he has stomach cancer and has between five months and a year left to live.
Prior to his diagnosis, Mr Walker had been suffering heartburn which got progressively worse. After several days, fearing he was suffering a heart attack, he called an ambulance and was rushed to hospital.
Paul Walker from Lisburn, Co Antrim has been told by medics that he may only have five months left to live
Mr Walker, pictured with his wife Laura, had thought he was suffering from heartburn, but hospital tests showed he had advanced stomach cancer
Mr Walker, pictured with his youngest child, Xena, said he cannot understand how he contracted fatal cancer in the weeks before the
Initially, Mr Walker was told that he had gall stones and was suffering type two diabetes. A later CT scan confirmed he had cancer of the stomach.
He told Belfast Live: 'I just keep asking myself why this has happened. There must be a reason, because I am only 37 and can't understand how this has come all of a sudden.
'A few weeks ago I had gone to the out of hours GP with heartburn and after coming home and taking some Gaviscon, the pain kept getting worse. My wife Laura ended up having to phone me an ambulance because I was sure that I was having a heart attack.'
He said he has to go into hospital on Monday for a biopsy which will determine his treatment, however doctors have already warned him that the cancer had progressed to far to be cured.
Any treatment will only prolong his
