Raising Awareness of Oesophageal Cancer
In Memory of Dean Franklin
We are honoured to share Dean’s story with the kind permission of his mum, Marie, and to recognise the incredible efforts of his family and friends who are fundraising for Heartburn Cancer UK and raising awareness of the dangers of persistent heartburn.
Dean Boroczky, known publicly as Dean Franklin, was a talented singer from Plymouth who captured hearts with his performances, including his appearance on The Voice UK, where he was mentored by Paloma Faith. A passionate musician from a young age, Dean performed across the UK and Europe, building a reputation for his powerful voice and love of music.
Dean lived a healthy life, however he did suffer from heartburn. He visited his GP about the issue many times over the last few years, but Marie said he was repeatedly brushed off, with the doctor suggesting he simply had heartburn, and he was prescribed medication.
In 2025 he started to feel pain. After his symptoms worsened, he admitted himself to A&E, where further investigations revealed a devastating diagnosis – stage four oesophageal cancer that had already spread to his liver and lymph nodes.
Dean was just 37 years old.
Despite the severity of his diagnosis, Dean showed remarkable courage and determination.
His mum, Marie, described how he faced everything with “courage and spirit and strength,” holding onto hope even after being told his cancer was incurable.
“There was a chance he could have immunotherapy and a professor was doing clinical trials, so we discussed all those things. He knew there was no cure, we were told he could have 12 months if the chemo was successful.”
“He was constantly in pain and the hospital arranged for him to have more medication, morphine and things like that, and while I was with him then, I noticed that he’d developed jaundice and said I think we need to contact someone.
“He was told that the jaundice was progressing quite rapidly due to liver failure. The professor got him in earlier for urgent chemotherapy. He went in, and because it had progressed quite a lot, they could only give him 50 per cent of that chemotherapy because of the potential damage to his liver.”
Tragically, Dean passed away just eight weeks after his diagnosis.
“When he was told he had 12 months if chemo was successful, he wanted to focus on that, but he wanted to get this message out. He kept getting diagnosed with heartburn. It’s such an underestimated disease, especially considering his age. He’d go to the doctor and they’d give him medicine for heartburn. He was getting pains in his stomach and they didn’t link it at all. It really wasn’t picked up. As the oncologist told us, because of his age, you’d usually present to the GP with difficulty swallowing. It’s very unrecognised in GPs to push forward for tests because of his age.”
“He wanted to raise awareness, he felt that something wasn’t quite right, but he wasn’t listened to. The oncologist said that there was no genetic link to the cancer; the cancer was caused by acid reflux. It’s very unknown, until we travelled this path with Dean, we weren’t aware of it. It’s really opened our eyes. There’s very little awareness of how prominent it can be.”
“The last few years he’d been going to the doctors with heartburn. If it had been picked up sooner, it could have gone differently. He could have been fast-tracked. It was just too late when he was diagnosed.”
Throughout his illness, Dean was determined to raise awareness.
His story highlights how persistent heartburn and acid reflux can sometimes be signs of something more serious, and the importance of further investigation when symptoms do not improve.
Even in the final weeks of his life, Dean’s passion for music never left him. After leaving hospital, he fulfilled a final wish to perform, giving an emotional open-air performance in London for hundreds of people – a powerful reflection of his spirit and love for connecting with others.
“There were hundreds of people there, he left a legacy that has gone far beyond the UK – literally around the world. He’s managed to do so much before all this, people travelled from Switzerland and Spain to be at that open-air performance, to watch him busk – he didn’t expect so many people.”
“I’d say there were 2–300 people watching. He managed to do five different songs. He did Tom Odell’s Heal, which meant quite a lot to him. He did Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black, James Blunt’s Goodbye My Lover, and he sang Blower’s Daughter by Damien Rice for me. That was our song, from right in the early days when he started performing. It was highly emotional. The crowds were crying. He was surrounded by so much love.”
Celebrating Dean
Dean’s funeral took place in Plymouth, and a celebration of Dean’s life also took place in London on Saturday 15 August 2026. This was a special opportunity for family, friends and those whose lives he touched to come together to remember and honour him, sharing memories and celebrating the impact he had both personally and through his music.
Raising Awareness
Today, Dean’s family and friends are continuing his legacy. They are working tirelessly to raise awareness of oesophageal cancer, helping others recognise symptoms earlier and seek medical advice. To donate to Dean’s GoFundMe, please visit their Go Fund Me page.
Dean’s sister Leanne will be taking on the Bournemouth Half Marathon in October 2026 and, along with her husband Craig and family friend Sammy Jane, the Manchester Marathon in April 2026, in Dean’s memory. They are running to honour Dean’s life, raise awareness of oesophageal cancer, and support Heartburn Cancer UK in helping more people recognise symptoms earlier. If you would like to support Leanne’s wonderful fundraising efforts, you can visit her JustGiving page.
HCUK Comment
Our sincere and heartfelt condolences go to Dean’s Mum Marie and his whole family. We are incredibly grateful to Marie and the wider family for allowing us to share Dean’s story. We really appreciate your support and commitment to following Dean’s wishes in trying to raise awareness and make a difference for this cancer.
Heartburn Cancer are increasingly concerned about the number of younger people we are seeing impacted by oesophageal cancer. Concerns are often dismissed by some GPs because of a patient’s younger age coupled with insufficient investigation before a patient is prescribed a PPI, (PPI’s – Proton pump inhibitors – are medications that reduce the amount of acid produced in the stomach, helping to relieve symptoms of heartburn and acid reflux and allowing the oesophagus to heal), often with no reviews. There are many people impacted by this lethal cancer who are not aged 55-plus, and we need to treat and investigate each patient based on the information given by the patient.
