At 29, Alex Able and his wife, Elle, were planning for the future — marriage, a move to the countryside, and hopes of starting a family. Just two years after their 2021 wedding, those dreams were shattered by one of the rarest cancer diagnoses in the world.
Living in Kent with Elle, 27, and their two cats, Socks and Sage, Alex first experienced shoulder pain in September 2023. As a regular gym-goer, he assumed it was a muscle strain. But when the pain worsened, disrupting his sleep, he pushed for an MRI. In November 2023, the scan showed nothing unusual.
By May 2024, the pain had intensified. A follow-up scan revealed a large tumour on his shoulder, dangerously close to his spinal cord. Surgeons removed 90% of the mass, but a small portion remained due to the high risk of damaging critical nerves.
Two weeks later, Alex was diagnosed with a rhabdoid tumour — an aggressive cancer usually found in children and believed to have just 11 known cases in Europe. Alex is thought to be the first confirmed case in the UK.
“Doctors explained that rhabdoid tumours spread like spider webs, clinging to anything nearby,” said Alex’s mother-in-law, Katie Bleach.
The cancer returned to full size within four weeks. Alex endured six weeks of daily radiotherapy, suffering burns and throat inflammation, followed by chemotherapy. By the end of 2024, some tumours had shrunk, and one had disappeared entirely. His primary tumour remained stable, and he and Elle began planning a move to Shropshire.
However, in April 2025, Alex’s health declined rapidly. Scans showed the cancer had spread to his lungs, spine, and brain. His mobility worsened, and paralysis set in by his third round of chemotherapy in July.
On July 11, doctors told the family that the cancer was now “uncontrollable” and treatment would be stopped, offering only palliative care. “They essentially asked him where he would like to die,” Katie said.
Refusing to give up, the family launched a fundraising campaign for private treatment abroad. A professor in Germany provided details of advanced therapies used at the University Medical Centre in Augsburg. Professor Robin Jones at the Royal Marsden has since agreed to take on Alex’s case privately, with the family now awaiting a detailed treatment plan.
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