A Croydon poker dealer has died after extreme stomach pain and blood in his urine led to the discovery of one of the world's rarest forms of cancer. Nickodemus Dacres was diagnosed with stage four medullary renal cell carcinoma (RMC), an extremely aggressive form of kidney cancer, last year. He died on September 26, aged just 23, after spending more than two years in and out of hospital, with his mum Donna Dacres, 59, by his side throughout much of his illness.
Diagnosis after months of tests
Nickodemus first developed extreme stomach pain while working a shift in July 2024. The Croydon man then went to the bathroom and discovered he was passing blood when he tried to urinate. A colleague rushed him to A&E, where he began undergoing months of tests.
A scan eventually found a small tumour in his right kidney, but the family said they were not told it was cancer. As the lump continued to grow and his pain worsened, surgeons removed his kidney and several lymph nodes in December 2024, so they could carry out further tests.
On February 6 last year, Donna was given the devastating news that her son had cancer. She said: “They sent us to the oncology department, and I didn’t even know what that was. No one in our family is ever sick. I was really stunned.”
Cancer spread and treatment challenges
By the time the cancer was diagnosed, it had already spread from Nickodemus’s kidney to his lymph nodes and lungs. It later progressed to his liver and bones despite chemotherapy. He was also relentlessly vomiting, and his weight dropped from 74kg to less than 55kg.
Donna said: “Watching that energetic, independent young man become so poorly has been absolutely heartbreaking.” The family later raised money to pay for targeted chemotherapy because the treatment was not routinely funded by the NHS. Nickodemus stopped vomiting for weeks and doctors told the family the treatment appeared to be working.
But he then developed dark urine, shoulder pain, jaundiced eyes, and black vomit. Donna said she asked doctors whether there was something wrong with his liver, but several scans reportedly showed no change in the organ and chemotherapy continued.
Final days and family's grief
While Donna was attending a church conference in Manchester, she received a call from Nickodemus telling her that things were bad. She immediately began driving back to be with him, but doctors called before she arrived to tell her that her son had died. When Donna reached the hospital, she said she was told that his liver had failed.
She said: “I just started to scream. I love him so much. He is my only son here; I don’t have anybody. I had no indication that he was going to die. The one time I left him in over two years. I went to church and he died. He died by himself. They knew his liver was failing from the morning. They had my number on file and knew I never left him and nobody called me.”
Donna said she feels let down by the hospital and believes Nickodemus should not have been given his final round of chemotherapy in his condition. She is now raising money towards her son's funeral after having to leave her job to care for him. The mum is also encouraging other young people to seek medical advice if they develop worrying symptoms. She said: “Young black guys need to go to their GP regularly to get checked. If you notice any abdominal pain do not ignore it.”
