Dad given just months to live planned his own funeral - before doctors told him 'cancer' was abscess

A dad who was diagnosed with cancer and told he had just six months to live began planning his funeral - before doctors later told him the tumour was just a harmless abscess.

Callum Laing, 40, went to see his doctor after suffering intense headaches in March. Medics carried out a scan and found a mass around the size of an orange growing inside his skull and he was diagnosed with a stage 4 Glioblastoma brain tumour. But only days later, Callum was given the miracle news that his lump was completely benign after surgeons attempted surgery on the growth.

The stunned dad-of-two, from Fife, Scotland, said the ordeal was the "biggest rollercoaster of his life" and recalled how he immediately prepared to say goodbye to his wife and young children. He told the Daily Record: "When I was given the diagnosis the doctors told me I might not make it to Christmas and all I could think about was making precious memories with my wife Vikki and my wee boys Joey and Jed. They're only nine and four.

"It was a horrible, deep, sinking feeling. I wondered who was going to teach them to play football if I wasn't around. Then I thought of missing their birthdays and other big events like their graduations and weddings. It just broke me. These are all big milestones that you look forward to when you become a parent. And as your kids grow older, their wee personalities change and they become different people. I realised I wouldn't watch my boys grow into young men and that was very difficult to process. It scared me.

Callum had also told his wife to promise him she would meet someone else, as the pair began to discuss what his final months would look like. He continued: "I started to think about my own funeral. I told Vikki I'd like to be cremated and I told her where to spread my ashes. I told her to take some to Seafield Beach in Kirkcaldy because that's where my mum and dad walk their dog every day. I was thinking about how devastated they would be.

"Then I told her to find another place where she and the boys can scatter the rest of my ashes. She told me not to speak like that, but I just wanted her to know. I even told her that I wanted her to meet someone else in the future and that my friends and family would support her. I wanted to have that conversation with her because I knew I wanted her to be happy. The thought of her spending the rest of her life on her own made me deeply sad."

Callum and Vikki planned the best last months of their family's lives, but just days later, they received a miracle update. Callum said: "I was in Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary for surgery on the tumour and before I went under I was pleading with the universe to let me live a year at the very least. When I woke up I asked my doctor how bad it was and at that moment he turned around and told me: 'You're not going to believe me. But it's not a tumour, it's an abscess. You're going to make a full recovery'. I couldn't believe it. I can honestly say that I felt like the luckiest man alive."

But despite his ordeal, Callum said he holds no anger towards medics who delivered his shocking cancer diagnosis. He said: "When I was told I was going to survive I felt nothing but pure euphoria. I was on the highest of highs. I'd just been on the biggest rollercoaster of my life. There was no anger whatsoever because I still believe I owe everything to these doctors. Now I've got another shot at life and I won't take it for granted. I don't think I'll ever drink alcohol or put a cigarette in my mouth again. It has changed my whole perspective. I have never felt so positive and energised."

Callum is now set to undergo antibiotic treatment for around 16 to 20 weeks, and has launched a fundraiser for the hospital's Department of Clinical Neurosciences. He said: "I made friends with a man on the ward who has had 12 brain surgeries, but there was no place for us to go and watch football or play on the computer. So by fundraising, I want to build a fun room for patients where they'll be able to get water or cups of tea. I'm determined that's what I will raise the money for."

Tracey Gillies, Medical Director, NHS Lothian said, “Despite sophisticated diagnostic testing, in some instances, surgical intervention is needed to support a diagnosis. We are pleased that following surgery, it was confirmed that the mass that showed up on Mr Laing’s scan was not a tumour. He was treated for a brain abscess and will continue to receive care from NHS Lothian. We wish him a speedy recovery.”

Donate to Callum's fundraiser here.