Collin Junior Lou Macari Stoke City Price was admitted to the Royal Stoke University Hospital after suffering seizures and scans confirmed he had developed an aggressive form of cancer
A heartbroken family are demanding answers for their son who died 25 years after undergoing an intensive treatment which eventually caused his death.
Collin Junior Lou Macari Stoke City Price – named after his dad’s love of the football club – was just 27 years old when he lost his life. When he was just two years old doctors diagnosed Collin with a malignant brain tumour after relatives found he was suffering developmental delays, seizures and lethargy.
Medics found that little Collin was suffering from a medulloblastoma – a fast-acting tumour that develops in the cerebellum, an area of the brain crucial for controlling movement and coordination.
They were able to treat the disease with an intensive course of surgery and radiation. However, the treatment had tragically unforeseen consequences.
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More than two decades later, on January 10, 2024, Collin was admitted to the Royal Stoke University Hospital after suffering seizures and scans confirmed he had developed another brain tumour, Stoke on Trent Live reports.
Experts explained he had a glioblastoma as a result of the radiation treatment that saved him as a child. The inquest heard there was no possibility of a cure and Collin, of Longport, died a year later on June 22. at the Douglas Macmillan Hospice.
But Collin’s loved ones remain adamant his death could have been prevented. Family members argue that his annual CT scans exposed him to unnecessary radiation.
Sister Rebecca Poole said: “We believe that his initial treatment may have had something to do with the development of the second tumour. But we also believe that by scanning his brain every year to check for tumours has also contributed by exposing him to more radiation. If he hadn’t have had those done repeatedly, maybe the cancer wouldn’t have been triggered.”
She also argued that earlier detection could have given Collin longer to live and a better quality of life.
Dr Adam Fullagar, clinical oncologist at the Royal Stoke, said: “It is very likely that the second tumour developed as a result of the childhood irradiation which cured the childhood medulloblastoma.
“It is possible that the tumour could have been picked up sooner, but given the rapidly-dividing nature of glioblastomas, spotting the disease earlier may not have changed the outcome.”
Speaking on the risk posed by CT scans, he added that he would ‘not have recommended’ the annual tests. However, his evidence suggested the risk was minimal and that the intensive radiation treatment Collin received as a child was the likely cause of his second tumour.
Coroner Andrew Barkley said that doctors were faced with risks from every angle and asserted they acted for the ‘right reasons’. His narrative conclusion concurred with the medical cause of death provided by the hospital.
He said: “I find that Collin died at the Douglas MacMillan Hospice following the rare but recognised complications of necessary medical treatment.”
Paying tribute to her ‘wonderful’ son, mum Zoe Phillips said: “He was such a funny boy, he’d light up the room wherever he went. He was a bit of a Jack the lad! He constantly had us laughing. And he was always very helpful. He never let his medical difficulties hold him back either. We miss him everyday.”
