Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) is about to feel as though he’s taken a number of steps backwards in Emmerdale, as he’s told some gut-wrenching news about his cancer.
Cain was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year. He then endured an agonising wait for surgery, which was made even longer as a result of being hit by a car. The beloved character had his operation, and is now trying his best to come to terms with the side effects.
One of the challenges Cain has had to face is not having full control of his bladder. Experiencing embarrassing mishaps hurt Cain’s pride a great deal, so he decided to avoid places where a toilet wasn’t nearby. Fortunately, after a conversation with Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson), Cain took a huge step and bought some leak-proof underwear. He knew that Liam was making a valid point about not letting post-surgery ruin his life.
The next day, Cain returned to work at the garage. He was feeling apprehensive and decided to only focus on paperwork, but a smart move from Kammy Hadiq (Shebz Miah) soon got Cain back under the bonnet and doing what he’s best at.
Next week, Cain makes more progress by deciding to attend Kyle Winchester’s (Huey Quinn) swearing-in ceremony at the cadets. In the village hall, Kyle takes the Army Cadet oath, but is saddened when he realises Cain’s chair is empty. Unbeknownst to the young lad, Cain is rushing into the Woolpack toilets after noticing a wet patch on his trousers. He receives support from Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin), who’s entered with a pair of clean trousers. Cain feels humiliated, but accepts the help, and is grateful when Charles and Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) assure him of their discretion. Cain returns to the ceremony and confesses his accident to Kyle, but he reassures his dad and says that he isn’t embarrassed, and is glad that he came back.
That evening, Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) does her best to reassure Cain when he says that he thinks his health issues are making him ‘less of a man’. The next day, the couple are at the hospital for an update following Cain’s operation. Unfortunately, Ms Rhodes shares the worrying news that, although the surgery was successful, the tests show that it’s highly likely the cancer has spread slightly.
Devastated over not being given the all clear, Cain spirals further when Ms Rhodes tells him that he will need further treatment, but has to wait months for it as his body needs time to heal from the prostatectomy. As if that wasn’t enough, Cain then discovers there is a chance the radiotherapy could make his current side effects permanent.
Cain and Moira decide not to tell their children just yet, but it isn’t long until family secrets are revealed. It really is one thing after another for Cain and Moira. How will they move forward after this latest development?
