A father of four who was repeatedly told that his severe leg pain was sciatica has died, after his symptoms turned out to be an aggressive form of cancer. Joe Till, 33, from Lancaster, made multiple visits to walk-in centres complaining of pain in his leg, only to be diagnosed later with stage four diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, an aggressive type of blood cancer.
The dedicated gym enthusiast and hiking lover was eventually informed that the NHS could offer no further treatment and that he might have only months to live. Joe passed away on May 17 following his battle with cancer. A fundraiser set up to support his wife and four children has now collected more than £13,500. His funeral is scheduled to take place on May 29.
Initial Misdiagnosis
Joe first noticed something was seriously wrong when he experienced pain in his leg in 2024. He said: "I was getting pains in my leg and was up and down to walk-in centres. They told me it was sciatica but one day I found I couldn't walk upstairs," reports Lancs Live. He was diagnosed with cancer in July 2024 and then faced months of punishing treatment, during which he lost mobility from the shoulders down.
Cancer Returns
Despite periods where his condition seemed to stabilise during treatment, the cancer returned. On February 9, Joe was told there was nothing further the NHS could provide. A fundraiser was established to help cover private therapies and to secure his family home for his wife and children.
Announcing his death on the fundraiser page, Joe's family said: "It is with broken hearts that we share that our brave Joe sadly passed away on 17.05.2026. He fought with incredible strength and courage right until the very end. Joe's wish was for his life to be celebrated. He always said he didn't want people wearing black or for the day to be full of sadness he wanted a big celebration, just like the amazing person he was."
They added: "Thank you again for all of the love and support shown to Joe, his wife, children and all of our family during this incredibly difficult time. We know how loved he truly was."
To show support for Joe's family, you can visit the GoFundMe page. More than £13,700 has already been raised towards the £30,000 target from 471 donations.
