Terence Needham was a healthy, lively man – until he was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. Here, his widow, Jessica Needham, tells feature writer Jess Bourne about a man she was proud to call her husband and how he fought this terrible disease.
By Jess Bourne
It was an autumnal Friday morning and Terence Needham had a friend over at his house. He was about to go out for the day with LOROS Hospice and casually said to his friend: “See you next week – I’ll be here.”
That was the plan. Terence had terminal liver cancer, and while he wasn’t expecting a miracle recovery, he was always hopeful for another day.
But shortly after waving goodbye to his friend, Terry started to cough up blood. The retired 65-year-old father-of-three didn’t go on his planned day out.
Instead, Terence, of Ashby, north west Leicestershire, was rushed to hospital. After a seven hour wait, the doctors were concerned. Terence wasn’t just coughing up blood, he was bleeding internally.
The diagnosis was grim. “At best, he’s got 24 hours to live,” said a consultant. The shock and the thought of losing her husband within the next 24 hours instantly made Jessica, his wife, break into tears.
The prognosis was accurate. Terence died in the Leicester Royal Infirmary, with his wife at his side, a day later. This is the story of Terence Needham and his three year-long battle with cancer that ended with his death on October 7, 2023.
Terence Needham was a good father to his children and the family’s provider. He enjoyed spending time with his children, watching football matches and going to cafés with his friends.
The tragedy started in 2020. Terence developed a cough, a runny nose and frequent nose bleeds. Jessica convinced him to go to the doctors where he was referred to Coalville Hospital for an X-Ray. It came back clear. He left the hospital with a pack of antibiotics and more confusion than before.
In August 2021, Terence brushed off the returning symptoms and carried on as normal. But Jessica insisted for him to get checked, and after appointments at Leicester Royal Infirmary, their worst nightmare came true.
It was cancer. It was critical that they operated as soon as they could. Within two weeks, Terence had been operated on. They removed most of his liver.
By December, doctors gave him the all clear and he was getting back to his everyday life ready for Christmas. But things went from bad to worse in February. The cancer had spread and it was terminal. Terence had less than six months to live. After receiving the news, Terence said to Jessica: ‘I will fight this. I’m not ready yet – I really need to see my children grow up.’
“The world was just too dark, we didn’t know what to do,” says Jessica, four months after the cancer took his life.
They had to go to the oncologist every month, and his blood sugar was at a good level, his kidneys were functioning well. He decided to continue living his life, watching football matches with his best friend, Phil, going for breakfast, and going to church.
One thing Terence wanted to do before he died was visit the seaside. So the Needham family travelled to Worthing, on the Sussex coast, over the summer and while he was there, he sat and watched the world go by.
In August, the doctor told Terence that he had months to live. He was deteriorating. But he made peace with that.
Jessica was struggling to take care of Terence all by herself, so she called social services and told them: “I don’t know what I’m doing, I really need some help. My husband is dying. I’m desperate.”
He wanted to stay at his family home until he passed, so he could be surrounded by his family when he takes his last breath. But he was bleeding internally. They were unable to accommodate to his final wish. But Jessica worried that her children’s last memory of their father would be his dying face.
“Even when I wake up, I can still see Terence’s face. It won’t go away, it will stay,” says Jessica, who was by his bedside when he passed.
The day he started to cough up blood was one of his last days. Jessica had rung the palliative nurse but, with no response, she turned to the emergency services. The ambulance arrived and they took him straight to hospital. Jessica eventually had to leave to take care of her children while she waited for the dreaded phone call.
When Jessica returned to the hospital with her children the next day, they heard the dreaded news. He had a day left. “I said to him ‘When you go, take my love with you. Take our faith. I will always be there Terence,’”says Jessica, as she wipes away a tear.
“He said to me ‘I love you very much,’ and those were the last words I heard from him.”
At 10pm that night, the oncologist rang. Terence’s breathing had changed. Jessica rushed to the hospital, preparing for the worst. It was time.
Jessica rang her children so Terence could hear them say ‘I love you’ for the last time.
Then he took his last breath. “It’s the worst thing I could imagine to see your husband dying,” says Jessica.
“At least I could give him the care because that’s what we promised. Till death do us part.”
Jessica looks back and finds comfort in knowing that he is out of pain and that she has a part of him in their children. “But at least we have our family, we’ve got the children. That’s all that matters,” says Jessica.
“Just be grateful every day for what we receive because we never know our end,” she says, trying to find the strength to carry on.
