A man who thought he’d just pulled a muscle in the gym was diagnosed with a rare cancer.
Alex Able, 30, thought he had just “overdone it at the gym” after experiencing shoulder pain.
But when the pain in his left shoulder was still there a month later he went to get checked out – but an MRI didn’t pick anything up.
When the pain came back with a “vengeance” six months later another MRI revealed a tumour that was 3cm in size in his shoulder.
He was diagnosed with a rhabdoid tumour – a rare and aggressive cancer.
Alex had surgery to remove 90% of the tumour, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but his treatment has now been terminated as the tumours on the top of his spine are “progressing faster than they can manage”.
Now Alex’s family are looking into private treatment to save his life.
Mother-in-law, Katie Dine, 44, from Walderslade, Kent, said: “We asked him what he thinks he’s done and he said I don’t know, I think I’ve overdone it at the gym and I asked you don’t think its from work but he said no.
“He’s [Alex] gentle and kind, he’s done so much to look after other people in his life, and that’s why this just seems so utterly cruel what’s happening to him.”
Alex first noticed the pain in his shoulder in September 2023 and his wife, Elle, 27, who both work at a soft drinks maintenance company, became concerned when she noticed him struggling with it.
In October 2023, the pain continued, so Alex went to A&E where he had an MRI scan, but the results didn’t show anything suspicious.
Alex’s pain lessened, but in April 2024, it returned.
Katie said: “It literally came back with vengeance.”
Alex, from Horsted, Kent, underwent another MRI scan at Medway hospital, Kent, where doctors then spotted the tumour.
After a weekend of waiting for results, Alex and his family were told the tumour was in fact cancerous.
Katie said: “They believed the tumour in his shoulder was cancerous so the option would be to surgically remove it as soon as they could.
“They said it was beyond Medway hospital and it needed to go to the specialist at Kings hospital, London for surgery.”
The surgery took place in June 2024, where 90% of the tumour was removed.
Over the next two weeks Alex’s pain had gone, Katie said: “We thought he was on the road to recovery.”
Three weeks after the surgery, Alex and his family were asked to come back into the hospital, where they were told a biopsy revealed it was a rhabdoid tumour – which his doctors hadn’t seen in an adult before.
Katie said: “When you’re dealing with something like this, it’s just utter fear.”
He undertook six weeks of radiotherapy which started in August.
In September, Alex was diagnosed with secondary metastasis tumours in his lung and shoulder following a scan post radiotherapy.
This was then followed by chemotherapy.
Katie said: “I think the love they share is what got them through it, but it wasn’t easy.
“Alex was resilient, he told me he’d give anything to get in the van and go to work again, because I just miss my old life.”
At the beginning of 2025, Alex was told the secondary tumours in his lung and shoulder bone had gone.
But in July 2025, after going into hospital for a third cycle of chemotherapy he experienced sudden paralysis from his chest down.
Katie said: “It was Alex’s worst nightmare, it’s always been a fear of his. He now can’t feel his legs and is worried it is going to be a permanent thing.”
On July 10, Alex was taken to their local hospital, Medway, in an ambulance where he had a brain, chest and spine MRI.
The family were given the devastating news the following day that the doctors had decided to terminate all cancer treatment because they believe the tumours in the top of the spine are “progressing faster than they can manage.”
Katie said: “Alex broke down, Elle broke down, he never had a single bit of colour in his face, I mean, it was just horrific.
“We were just like – ‘why aren’t you giving him a chance, why are you giving up?’”
They have now decided to explore private treatments in the UK – as well as in Mexico and Germany.
The provisional target set on the Gofundme page is £55k, however their real target is £180k to get Alex the treatment he needs.
Katie said: “The treatment in Mexico uses a holistic approach, and they look at oxygen therapy, infusions of vitamin C and D, all things known to support cell regeneration.”
The specialised cancer drugs for rhabdoid tumours available in Mexico are called Tazemetostat and Omacetaxine. These were trialled in the UK a few years ago but were not taken up by the NHS.
So far they have raised over £13,675.
Help Alex here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-give-alex-a-chance-rare-cancer-fight
Follow them on TikTok @elleandalexfight
