Dan’s Story

Six Weeks.

From A Cancer Diagnosis to Losing The Love of My Life.

In this story, Dan’s partner Lisa shares the story of the man she loved, the devoted dad he was, and the devastating six weeks between his diagnosis with oesophageal cancer and his death.

She shares their journey in her own words, the impact Dan’s loss has had on their family, and his wish to raise awareness so that others might recognise the signs of oesophageal cancer sooner.

Dan

Dan Griffiths, known to so many people as “Tubby”, was my partner of eight years and the love of my life. We had a relationship full of love, affection, laughter and friendship. We did almost everything together and he absolutely adored me, just as I adored him.

Dan was bubbly, funny, cheeky and loud, but he was also incredibly sensitive and had one of the biggest hearts I have ever known. He would help anyone he could and never hesitated to do something for somebody else. He had a fantastic sense of humour, a very distinctive laugh and a personality that people remembered.

Since losing him, so many people have described him as a “top bloke” or, in Dan’s own words, “a great guy”.

A Family Man With A Big Heart

Dan worked at The Royal Enfield in Redditch. He started there as kitchen staff before moving into a maintenance role. He loved being around people and was a familiar and well-loved face there.

His biggest loves were his family, his children, his friends and Birmingham City Football Club. He was a huge BCFC supporter and football was a massive part of his life. He loved socialising and spending time with the people he cared about.

Dan was a dad through and through.

His children were one of the most important things in his life. He was a loving and committed father to all of his children and took enormous pride in being their dad. He wanted to be there for them, support them and spend time with them. Being a father wasn’t something he took lightly – it was a huge part of who he was.

When Jude came along in March 2023, Dan was just as hands-on and devoted. He was a present, supportive and loving dad who wanted to be involved in Jude’s life and create memories with him.

The Early Warning Signs Were There

In the months before Dan was diagnosed, he was also suffering badly with heartburn. His heartburn became so severe that he was going through around a packet of Rennie a day. He had also developed a chronic cough, which we were told by the doctors was nothing to worry about.

I remember that Dan had also gone off food. He would get free meals at work, but he wouldn’t eat. At the time, we didn’t know that these symptoms could be linked to oesophageal cancer.

“That’s just done something to my back.”

Dan and I were also planning our wedding when everything changed.

In March 2025, we took Jude to Alton Towers for his birthday. Dan and I went on a roller coaster together and, when we got off, he said: “That’s just done something to my back.”

We thought he had pulled a muscle.

As the weeks went on, the pain became worse and worse. We were back and forth between the doctors and hospital, trying to find out what was wrong, being told by the professionals that it was ‘muscle damage’ and being sent away with various different medications.

This continued until the end of August.

After a scan for what doctors thought was a ruptured ulcer, we were finally told that they had found “something sinister” and that Dan had oesophageal cancer that was incurable and it had spread to his bones, which explained the constant backache he had been suffering.

Six Weeks

From the moment of diagnosis, everything happened incredibly quickly.

We had exactly six weeks between Dan being diagnosed and him dying on 8 October 2025.

Just six weeks.

We went from thinking we had our whole lives ahead of us, planning our wedding and raising our little boy, to suddenly having to face the reality that I was going to lose my partner and that his children were going to lose their dad.

Although Jude’s time with his dad was tragically short, Dan made the most of every moment. He was a present, supportive and loving dad who wanted to be involved in Jude’s life and create memories with him.

It is heartbreaking knowing that all of Dan’s children have lost their dad, and that they will have to grow up without him being there for the moments we always imagined he would be there forFor Jude, there will be birthdays, school achievements, Christmases, football matches and so many other milestones where we will wish Dan was there. And for his older children, there are also years of memories, experiences and a relationship with their dad that have been taken from them far too soon.

We will do everything we can to keep Dan’s memory alive for all of his children and make sure they know just how much their dad loved them.

Dan Wanted His Experience To Help Others

What makes Dan’s story particularly important to me is that even while he was facing his own diagnosis, he was already thinking about other people.

Dan was adamant that, if he died, we should use his experience to raise awareness of oesophageal cancer. He even wanted a representative from Heartburn Cancer UK to attend our wedding reception so that we could use the occasion to educate people about oesophageal cancer and its symptoms.

Sadly, Dan never got to see our wedding or make that happen himself.

So I want to do it for him.

Dan was only diagnosed six weeks before he died. Looking back at everything that happened, I cannot help but wonder whether things could have been different if the signs had been recognised sooner.

I don’t want another family to experience what ours has.

I don’t want another partner to go from planning their wedding to planning a funeral in six weeks.

And I don’t want another family to have to explain to children why their dad isn’t coming home.

Dan wanted people to know about oesophageal cancer. He wanted his experience to mean something and, even when he was facing the worst possible outcome, he was thinking about how he could potentially help somebody else.

Keeping Dan’s Memory Alive

Dan was a fantastic partner, an amazing dad, a loyal friend, a proud Birmingham City supporter and, above all, a genuinely good man. He was my person, but he was also a dad whose children meant the world to him.

And although he only had six weeks from diagnosis to losing his life, I want to make sure that the legacy he wanted to leave behind lasts much, much longer. We will do everything we can to keep Dan’s memory alive and make sure his story continues to be heard.

If sharing our experience can encourage even one person to get symptoms checked sooner, then something positive can come from the most devastating thing our family has ever experienced. That is what Dan wanted. And that is what we will continue to do for him.