Vicar from Colchester shocked as stage four cancer 'disappears'
A vicar diagnosed with stage four skin cancer said he was "astonished" after the disease appeared to have left his body.The Reverend Matthew Simpkins, from Colchester, said he had been preparing to die after his diagnosis in 2021.But there was no sign of cancer on his last five scans, a realisation he told the BBC was "remarkable"."It can come back and I know that, but it's astonishing and I really give thanks for where I am," Mr Simpkins said.
He was first diagnosed with acral letiginous melanoma in 2019 and had a toe removed.Mr Simpkins, the vicar of St James in Clacton-on-Sea and St Christopher in Jaywick, later got the all-clear from doctors, before the disease returned two years later.
It spread across his body, before Mr Simpkins then contracted aseptic meningitis.However, an "extremely rare" reaction to the meningitis treatment meant it started to attack his cancer as well."Halfway through 2024 I had a scan and my jaw hit the floor because the cancer was gone," explained Mr Simpkins, who grew up in Ipswich and Sudbury."It had been on my lungs and on my back and it was gone. I've had five scans since and it's not there."According to Cancer Research UK, 55% of people with stage four BRAF positive melanoma would survive for six -and-a-half years or more.
'Poignant moment'
The vicar said his shock revelation followed a year of "preparing people for what was to come next" when his condition worsened."One of the very wise nurses said to me 'You're lucky'," he added. "It's remarkable."
Mr Simpkins believed he was the first person to be discharged from St Helena Hospice's home-care team, SinglePoint.The father-of-two said: "I'm so grateful I had the chance to be the first person looked after by this nurse to thank her in person."I realised as I did it, it was quite a poignant moment."Having already released a song made from the sounds of an MRI scanning machine, the keen musician said hallucinations he had during meningitis treatment inspired his latest music.He released the 11-track album Headwater on 6 June."My cancer helped me go back to music and tell people a little of the human experience of illness and seemingly approaching death," Mr Simpkins added.
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