Dad given 8 months to live after brutal diagnosis but he was dead within a week
A father died of cancer just days after he was given eight months to live.
Qasim Khan, 31, was diagnosed last year having suffered back pain. His health continued to deteriorate and, last month, doctors told Qasim he had just eight months to live.
But the dad of two passed away just six days later, devastating his family, who live in Barking, east London. Now his grieving relatives want to build a mosque in Qasim's name in the east London community.
Speaking to My London, Qasim's 27-year-old sister Maira said: "He was a beautiful soul who made everyone smile and feel loved. He was generous, kind and someone who had so much respect for everyone. Qasim was that person who had a smile that could light up a room and a heart full of love. He had something special about him, something that touched the hearts of everyone who knew him."
Qasim Khan leaves behind his wife and two young childen (MyLondon WS)When, over the last two years, Qasim experienced back pain, his GP and doctors in hospital carried out lots of scans doctors but had no idea what was causing his agony. Medics repeatedly said it wasn't cancer. When Qasim's pain worsened further, his wife took him to a Bupa clinic to find out what was going on.
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Maira said: "When they told us the results, it was quite shocking. It came out of nowhere." Blood tests confirmed what the doctors had suspected - Qasim had been diagnosed with cancer.
However, they couldn't work out what the primary cancer was, despite multiple scans. He had a tumour on his chest, but it wasn't necessarily the primary source of the cancer, making it much harder to treat effectively, as the doctors were unable to pinpoint the exact place for the treatment to focus on.
The loving dad's family want to build a mosque in Qasim's name (MyLondon WS)Qasim went through chemotherapy in January 2023. Maira said: "We were quite hopeful and Qasim was very optimistic he was going to be treated."
Qasim was still in huge amounts of pain, so he was given morphine two to three times a day to manage it. But Qasim's personality changed during the chemotherapy, Maira said.
She said: "The tumour was growing in his chest and was raised on his skin. Around that area was so painful he stopped holding his children. They're quite young, and his eldest was quite close to him."
His daughter also has special needs, and when she was excited to see him, she would jump on Qasim to give him a hug. Maira said that because of the physical pain it would cause, he would get angry and have to push her away.
Qasim had to move back home to his mother's house in Barking so she could look after him. He didn't lose his hair during the chemo but became very weak. He stopped going out, seeing friends or going on date nights with his wife.
Qasim, from Barking, east London, died days after being told he had eight months left to live (MyLondon WS)
Qasim's family today expressed their grief after the tragedy (MyLondon WS)Maira said: "He didn't want anyone to see him in that condition." He never really described the pain, but Maira thinks this was because he didn't want to burden the family.
Qasim also became quite realistic at this point. Maira said: "He said I was just worried about my girls. I was leaving you all behind." And Maira herself said she didn't want to believe Qasim might die.
He then tried immunotherapy, another form of treatment. He had two rounds of this, but Maira said it didn't have a consistent effect at shrinking the tumour on his chest, and it got so bad he wasn't able to even lie flat on his bed.
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Qasim struggled to sleep, and his mum would sleep on the floor next to him, as he needed someone with him constantly. He was delirious and would be having conversations while half asleep.
Maira said: "He would have conversations with mum saying he wasn't sure he was going to survive this." Qasim just wasn't getting better.
Maira said: "Me and my family have been grieving from a long time ago. Six months ago we started to see him break in front of us. It was really heartbreaking."
On June 8, doctors told Qasim he had six to eight months to live. Maira said she started crying at work, and made her way home, where Qasim's wife and the rest of their family were also crying.
Maira said: "Qasim was just sitting there. He had made peace with it." Qasim went into palliative care, but only six days later, on June 14 2023, he died. Maira said: "It's a nightmare we can't wake up from."
Now, Maira and her family are raising money to build a mosque in her brother's name. She explained that in Islam, sadaqah jariyah is a form of charity that is done for someone who has passed away that will continue reaping rewards for them in death.
This can be done by building a mosque, which Maira hopes will bring reward to Qasim every time someone prays in it. She said: "It will serve as a place of solace and reflection, where we can remember Qasim's spirit and the impact he had on our lives."
Due to the costs of building a mosque in the UK, she has proposed to build the mosque in a country where they need it more. Maira suggested Pakistan and Uganda as two places they are currently considering for where to build the mosque.
Maira said: "Qasim really inspired a lot of people. At the age of 31 he did a lot. Now it's my turn to do something for him."
You can donate to the fundraiser to build a mosque in Qasim's memory here.
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