‘I worked for 17 years without a sick day, retired and then got incurable cancer – my main symptom was going off beer’

A father-of-three who worked for nearly two decades without a sick day, retired and was then diagnosed with incurable cancer has said his main symptom was “going off beer”.

Andy Young, 62, a retired financial controller who lives Harpenden, Hertfordshire, was partial to a pint at the weekend and even brewed his own beer but, in the run up to Christmas last year, this all changed.

He said he was experiencing some mild flu-like symptoms which he assumed would improve with time but, when he “suddenly went off beer”, he decided to visit the GP in January.

After blood tests showed his kidneys were not functioning properly, further tests then revealed he had myeloma, a blood cancer, in March, and he was told it was “treatable but not curable”.

After weeks of chemotherapy, Andy is now showing improvements and he is looking ahead to a stem cell transplant in October with the hope of reaching remission.

“17 years without a day off sick and then I retire and months later I get cancer,” Andy told PA Real Life.

“I didn’t really have any symptoms – apart from the beer bit, the rest were all just vague.

“But if something doesn’t feel right, or something changes, then it probably isn’t right. Get it checked.”

Speaking about drinking beer again post-diagnosis, he added: “I can drink a beer now, so I think that (strangely) shows that the chemotherapy is working and my kidneys must be improving.”

Before his diagnosis, Andy said he had “no health issues” and he passed his routine check-up at 60 with “flying colours”.

In the run up to Christmas 2025, however, he said he “suddenly went off beer” – and given one of his favourite hobbies is homebrewing, this was particularly “strange”.

“I would have a couple of beers in an evening or at the weekend or something, and one time it took me nearly three hours to drink a beer,” he said.

“There was something about the taste because I really wasn’t enjoying it. It was an effort to get through it.

“Then I had some other low-level symptoms, so there was low-level nausea and some tiredness and chest pain.

“So, I did what you never should do, I asked Dr Google what it thought, and it basically said these symptoms all could be part of the latest bout of flu.”

Andy thought his symptoms would “fix themselves” in time but after three weeks with no improvement, he decided to visit his GP in January.

While Andy said the GP did not clarify whether the beer symptom was health-related or not, he was referred for blood tests.

He said the results showed his kidneys were not functioning properly and he was advised by specialists to drink more water but blood tests over the following weeks showed no improvements.

Further tests, including blood tests, urine tests, X-rays, ECGs, ultrasounds and a bone marrow biopsy, then revealed he had myeloma in March – and he said the news “left (him) numb”.

“It took clinicians almost three months to finally diagnose me with blood cancer… I was just thinking it was a kidney problem,” he said.

“The consultant came in to break the news and said, ‘You’ve got myeloma, it’s a blood cancer, it’s treatable but not curable. Any questions?’.

“It was a huge shock and… then I thought – ‘How do I tell my loved ones? What does this mean?’.”

According to Myeloma UK, some of the common symptoms and complications of myeloma can include pain, fatigue, recurring infection, kidney damage and peripheral neuropathy – when peripheral nerves are damaged.

However, despite it being the third most common type of blood cancer, it is difficult to detect as symptoms are often linked to general ageing or minor conditions, the charity says.

Andy had not heard of myeloma before his diagnosis but, being an “analytical thinker” and having a “positive mindset”, he said he just wanted to get started with treatments straightaway.

“There’s no point going, ‘why me?’, or, ‘this isn’t fair’, none of that thought process helps you,” he said.

“You’ve just got to accept it and then see what treatments are available.

“The thing that knocked me for six is when I read somewhere about three to five years being the average life expectancy from diagnosis… but I soon ignored those numbers.”

Andy, who is married to Hayley, was given steroids and doctors allowed him to go on a planned family holiday to the Lake District, where his children and grandchildren joined for walks and played board games.

It was there, thanks to the steroids, that Andy felt well enough to have a beer for the first time since feeling unwell.

“It was good to enjoy the taste of beer again… but it was a reminder of how strange my symptoms were,” he said.

“When you think of cancer, you think of pain and lumps and I had neither, just this strange change to my taste.”

In April, Andy said he had a full body scan to check how the cancer was affecting him and was told by doctors that the cancer had caused two fractures near the top of his spine.

He was told the vertebrae were close to impinging on the spinal cord, which could have affected his movement or even caused paralysis, but Andy said he had “no pain” and this was a “complete shock”.

Andy was then given a back brace to wear but now has a custom-made one with Spider-Man themed colouring because his older granddaughter is “a huge fan” of the cartoon Spidey And His Amazing Friends.

He said: “I probably have to wear it for another three months, but I’ve got to stop wearing it by September because otherwise I won’t get the stem cell transplant that’s scheduled for October.”

Andy is currently receiving chemotherapy subcutaneously – injecting into the layer of fat just under the skin – every week and takes steroids which can disrupt his sleep, but otherwise he is coping well with the treatments.

While his daily walking is limited due to his spine and he has had to cancel plans like festivals this summer, he said getting outside “really helps”.

He still has several weeks of chemotherapy left, but he is preparing for his planned stem cell transplant in October – and while he is apprehensive, he believes this will give him the best chance of remission.

“Everything I’ve read or listened to (about the transplant) sounds horrendous, for a week or two,” he explained.

“But when you look at the outcome of people who have it, then bring it on, because it’s worth going through a bad patch just to increase the chance of a longer remission at the end.”

Andy is now supporting Myeloma UK’s Know the Warning Signs campaign, raising awareness of the signs of the disease which affects more than 35,000 people in the UK.

He is advising other myeloma patients to “find out as much as you can” – whether that is reading articles, getting advice from Myeloma UK or listening to podcasts – and for people to get any unusual symptoms checked.

Speaking about how his diagnosis has changed his perspective, he said: “I guess it has made me think about things more – and it is the simple things (that matter).”

For more information and support, visit: myeloma.org.uk/warning.