We here at the Seniors Discount Club are always preaching about the importance of taking care of your health, and this story is a perfect example of why that's so important.

You might not think that something as simple as going to get your haircut could potentially lead to you finding out about a life-threatening condition, but for one Queensland man, that's exactly what happened…

Nicholas Smithson, a 38-year-old boilermaker from Rockhampton, Queensland, was diagnosed with terminal cancer after his hairdresser noticed a suspicious-looking mole on his neck during a routine appointment.

The hairdresser urged Nicholas to get the mole checked out by a doctor or skin specialist, but when he did, he was twice dismissed and told there was nothing to worry about.

Thankfully, Nicholas listened to his gut instinct and went to see a third doctor who immediately ordered a biopsy.

The tradie was initially turned down by two doctors who shrugged off the risks of his cancerous mole. Credit: Daily Mail.​

The results showed that the growth was indeed cancerous – specifically, nodular melanoma – and had already spread beyond the blackened mole to his lymph nodes.

Doctors explained the 'worst case scenario' after finding out about his condition.

He shared: 'I remember I looked at my partner and said, "I'm going to f-ing die, this is going to kill me."'

'We went to my house and just stared at the blank wall and cried.'

Nicholas has since been raced to Brisbane for surgery in an attempt to remove all of the cancerous cells before they spread any further.

He underwent a 10-hour, bilateral neck dissection procedure to have his neck's lymph nodes removed.

However, he discovered a new growth behind his ear eleven days later.

His cancer, unfortunately, spread and he was given a prognosis of 6 months by the doctors. Credit: Daily Mail.​

It was only after going through a PET scan that he learned that his cancer had spread throughout his body and he could no longer hope for a cure.

Doctors gave him six months to live in August.

He remarked: 'It's like in the movies when people are given bad news, they just disconnect.'

He said that he had made sporadic calls to friends in search of solace and had even enquired of the local funeral director about evidence of an afterlife.

To support Nicholas in fulfilling his lifelong dream of travel, his friends have established a GoFundMe page.

After establishing a goal of $5000, they raised $17,000 to assist the boilermaker to 'tick off some items on his bucket list'.

Health experts confirmed that nodular melanomas can spread to major organs within three months after they first develop.

The story is a reminder of how important it is to take care of your health and get regular checkups, even if you feel perfectly healthy. Cancer, after all, is often asymptomatic in its early stages, so it's important to be vigilant about any changes in your body.

If you notice any suspicious lumps, bumps, or moles, be sure to see a doctor right away. It could very well be nothing, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Suzanne rose]

Bloody doctors , I have lost so must trust in them.

My friends daughter had discomfort down below with blood when she went to the toilet.

This was November 2017

she went to her doctor and was told it was haemorrhoids it got a little worst so she went back and was told the same thing, she was assured it wasn't bowel cancer and that she was too young.

She went and got another opion and they said the same thing.

She was feeling alot of discomfort so she went to a 3rd doctor , again told the same.

January 2018 her symptoms were getting worst, A close friend took her to their doctor, she said maybe it is haemorrhoids but wanted to put her in hospital for testing.

Results showed it was stage 4 bowel cancer .

They started chemo ect but she died on 26.4.2018 only 5 months from her first symptom. She was only 29 and healthy , non smoker, exercised regularly
The doctor said they needed tto catch it early as in young people bowel cancer spreads very fast if she was alot older it would have progressed slower.

My grandfather went to his doctor for a lump on his neck was told to just leave it as it's just a cyst. It was cancer he died 12 months later

Surgeons stuffed my stomach up by putting recalled mesh in and stitching it to my bowel. For nearly 3 years I've been suffering and before that I lived a busy and healthy life

I now tell people get a second, a third and more opions. Doctors do make mistakes. They are not God and they are not superior

Do not be afraid to get that second opion and don't be afraid to ask questions. It's your body, it's your life


My mother visited me last week and asked if I had a dry patch on my forehead checked , this article has just pushed me to do it.

 

[LaniK]

Having lost family members on both paternal and maternal sides of my family to melanoma and also having one small one removed, thanks to the observant eye of my doctor, I feel for this young man. I am overdue for a check up and reading this has made me make sure that today I will call the doctor. My thoughts are with him and his loved ones.

 

[9509]

We here at the Seniors Discount Club are always preaching about the importance of taking care of your health, and this story is a perfect example of why that's so important.

You might not think that something as simple as going to get your haircut could potentially lead to you finding out about a life-threatening condition, but for one Queensland man, that's exactly what happened…

Nicholas Smithson, a 38-year-old boilermaker from Rockhampton, Queensland, was diagnosed with terminal cancer after his hairdresser noticed a suspicious-looking mole on his neck during a routine appointment.

The hairdresser urged Nicholas to get the mole checked out by a doctor or skin specialist, but when he did, he was twice dismissed and told there was nothing to worry about.

Thankfully, Nicholas listened to his gut instinct and went to see a third doctor who immediately ordered a biopsy.

The tradie was initially turned down by two doctors who shrugged off the risks of his cancerous mole. Credit: Daily Mail.​

The results showed that the growth was indeed cancerous – specifically, nodular melanoma – and had already spread beyond the blackened mole to his lymph nodes.

Doctors explained the 'worst case scenario' after finding out about his condition.

He shared: 'I remember I looked at my partner and said, "I'm going to f-ing die, this is going to kill me."'

'We went to my house and just stared at the blank wall and cried.'

Nicholas has since been raced to Brisbane for surgery in an attempt to remove all of the cancerous cells before they spread any further.

He underwent a 10-hour, bilateral neck dissection procedure to have his neck's lymph nodes removed.

However, he discovered a new growth behind his ear eleven days later.

His cancer, unfortunately, spread and he was given a prognosis of 6 months by the doctors. Credit: Daily Mail.​

It was only after going through a PET scan that he learned that his cancer had spread throughout his body and he could no longer hope for a cure.

Doctors gave him six months to live in August.

He remarked: 'It's like in the movies when people are given bad news, they just disconnect.'

He said that he had made sporadic calls to friends in search of solace and had even enquired of the local funeral director about evidence of an afterlife.

To support Nicholas in fulfilling his lifelong dream of travel, his friends have established a GoFundMe page.

After establishing a goal of $5000, they raised $17,000 to assist the boilermaker to 'tick off some items on his bucket list'.

Health experts confirmed that nodular melanomas can spread to major organs within three months after they first develop.

The story is a reminder of how important it is to take care of your health and get regular checkups, even if you feel perfectly healthy. Cancer, after all, is often asymptomatic in its early stages, so it's important to be vigilant about any changes in your body.

If you notice any suspicious lumps, bumps, or moles, be sure to see a doctor right away. It could very well be nothing, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

 

[joshram]

I noticed a spot on my husband's skin that I'd not noticed before. He went to the doctor who thought it probably wasn't anything untoward but sent him to a specialist "just in case". Tests showed it was a melanoma, caught very early and with a great outcome. My husband's skin is scanned every few months now and he has had several moles removed but they were not cancerous. I don't understand doctors who do not investigate when a patient is concerned about something. Had that pale brown mole not been checked my husband would have been dead by now.

 

[Penny4]

My cousin's husband is presently having Immunotherapy for melanoma.
Immunotherapy treatment banished my mother's lung cancer, however she didn't have secondary cancer.
Not sure how my cousin's husband's outcome will be due to him having secondary cancer.
I hope it's a good result, otherwise wishing him a longer life span.
I have a friend who had melanoma who got her lymph nodes removed and is now on a preventative medication which is working fine.

 

[Glo72]

We here at the Seniors Discount Club are always preaching about the importance of taking care of your health, and this story is a perfect example of why that's so important.

You might not think that something as simple as going to get your haircut could potentially lead to you finding out about a life-threatening condition, but for one Queensland man, that's exactly what happened…

Nicholas Smithson, a 38-year-old boilermaker from Rockhampton, Queensland, was diagnosed with terminal cancer after his hairdresser noticed a suspicious-looking mole on his neck during a routine appointment.

The hairdresser urged Nicholas to get the mole checked out by a doctor or skin specialist, but when he did, he was twice dismissed and told there was nothing to worry about.

Thankfully, Nicholas listened to his gut instinct and went to see a third doctor who immediately ordered a biopsy.

The tradie was initially turned down by two doctors who shrugged off the risks of his cancerous mole. Credit: Daily Mail.​

The results showed that the growth was indeed cancerous – specifically, nodular melanoma – and had already spread beyond the blackened mole to his lymph nodes.

Doctors explained the 'worst case scenario' after finding out about his condition.

He shared: 'I remember I looked at my partner and said, "I'm going to f-ing die, this is going to kill me."'

'We went to my house and just stared at the blank wall and cried.'

Nicholas has since been raced to Brisbane for surgery in an attempt to remove all of the cancerous cells before they spread any further.

He underwent a 10-hour, bilateral neck dissection procedure to have his neck's lymph nodes removed.

However, he discovered a new growth behind his ear eleven days later.

His cancer, unfortunately, spread and he was given a prognosis of 6 months by the doctors. Credit: Daily Mail.​

It was only after going through a PET scan that he learned that his cancer had spread throughout his body and he could no longer hope for a cure.

Doctors gave him six months to live in August.

He remarked: 'It's like in the movies when people are given bad news, they just disconnect.'

He said that he had made sporadic calls to friends in search of solace and had even enquired of the local funeral director about evidence of an afterlife.

To support Nicholas in fulfilling his lifelong dream of travel, his friends have established a GoFundMe page.

After establishing a goal of $5000, they raised $17,000 to assist the boilermaker to 'tick off some items on his bucket list'.

Health experts confirmed that nodular melanomas can spread to major organs within three months after they first develop.

The story is a reminder of how important it is to take care of your health and get regular checkups, even if you feel perfectly healthy. Cancer, after all, is often asymptomatic in its early stages, so it's important to be vigilant about any changes in your body.

If you notice any suspicious lumps, bumps, or moles, be sure to see a doctor right away. It could very well be nothing, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Tipsy]

Bloody doctors , I have lost so must trust in them.

My friends daughter had discomfort down below with blood when she went to the toilet.

This was November 2017

she went to her doctor and was told it was haemorrhoids it got a little worst so she went back and was told the same thing, she was assured it wasn't bowel cancer and that she was too young.

She went and got another opion and they said the same thing.

She was feeling alot of discomfort so she went to a 3rd doctor , again told the same.

January 2018 her symptoms were getting worst, A close friend took her to their doctor, she said maybe it is haemorrhoids but wanted to put her in hospital for testing.

Results showed it was stage 4 bowel cancer .

They started chemo ect but she died on 26.4.2018 only 5 months from her first symptom. She was only 29 and healthy , non smoker, exercised regularly
The doctor said they needed tto catch it early as in young people bowel cancer spreads very fast if she was alot older it would have progressed slower.

My grandfather went to his doctor for a lump on his neck was told to just leave it as it's just a cyst. It was cancer he died 12 months later

Surgeons stuffed my stomach up by putting recalled mesh in and stitching it to my bowel. For nearly 3 years I've been suffering and before that I lived a busy and healthy life

I now tell people get a second, a third and more opions. Doctors do make mistakes. They are not God and they are not superior

Do not be afraid to get that second opion and don't be afraid to ask questions. It's your body, it's your life


My mother visited me last week and asked if I had a dry patch on my forehead checked , this article has just pushed me to do it.

there is a problem in Brisbane when wanting to see a Doctor in a Major Hospital, you no longer get to choose which Major Hospital to go to it is selected for you so unless you can afford private doctors you are screwed getting second opinions as other doctors in the same hospital are under the thumb of the head doctor well at the Princess Alexander one is anyway dont know about the rest as I dont get to go there.

 

[Glo72]

My heart goes out to that poor man. I was diagnosed with melanoma when I was 67. My husband first noticed that a mole on the back of my shoulder had changed. I saw my doctor who sent me straight to a dermatologist who did a biopsy and when the results came back sent me to a surgeon. I have been cancer free for 6 years. I get my skin checked every year plus I keep an eye out for any changes. We live in such a harsh environment for melanoma.

 

[JayKay]

This is so very sad.
Sounds as though we might all know of someone in similar situations.....I do.
I'm guessing it's not an unusual occurrence.
Certainly a timely reminder.
I'd think that Doctors would be more willing to say ,"Let's get it checked by the experts," or,
"Let's do some tests," so they don't have a wrong diagnosis on their conscience.

 

[Capsam]

I am so sad for this young man. It does underline though that if you are not satisfied with a doctors’s opinion, get that second or third opinion. I had to go to six doctors over an 18 month period to find one who did not treat me like a “neurotic female”. It turned out I was suffering from SVT’s, a heart arrhythmia. Each morning I would collapse on getting up from bed & spend 20 minutes crawling on the floor, waiting for my head to explode or to die! I was told that my heart was beating up to 300 beats a minute & each morning could have resulted in a cardiac arrest! Persevere folks! Doctors are not always correct. I currently need a growth removed from my throat but because of COVID it is easier for specialists to send you packing UNLESS you can go private that is!

 

[Zoya]

We here at the Seniors Discount Club are always preaching about the importance of taking care of your health, and this story is a perfect example of why that's so important.

You might not think that something as simple as going to get your haircut could potentially lead to you finding out about a life-threatening condition, but for one Queensland man, that's exactly what happened…

Nicholas Smithson, a 38-year-old boilermaker from Rockhampton, Queensland, was diagnosed with terminal cancer after his hairdresser noticed a suspicious-looking mole on his neck during a routine appointment.

The hairdresser urged Nicholas to get the mole checked out by a doctor or skin specialist, but when he did, he was twice dismissed and told there was nothing to worry about.

Thankfully, Nicholas listened to his gut instinct and went to see a third doctor who immediately ordered a biopsy.

The tradie was initially turned down by two doctors who shrugged off the risks of his cancerous mole. Credit: Daily Mail.​

The results showed that the growth was indeed cancerous – specifically, nodular melanoma – and had already spread beyond the blackened mole to his lymph nodes.

Doctors explained the 'worst case scenario' after finding out about his condition.

He shared: 'I remember I looked at my partner and said, "I'm going to f-ing die, this is going to kill me."'

'We went to my house and just stared at the blank wall and cried.'

Nicholas has since been raced to Brisbane for surgery in an attempt to remove all of the cancerous cells before they spread any further.

He underwent a 10-hour, bilateral neck dissection procedure to have his neck's lymph nodes removed.

However, he discovered a new growth behind his ear eleven days later.

His cancer, unfortunately, spread and he was given a prognosis of 6 months by the doctors. Credit: Daily Mail.​

It was only after going through a PET scan that he learned that his cancer had spread throughout his body and he could no longer hope for a cure.

Doctors gave him six months to live in August.

He remarked: 'It's like in the movies when people are given bad news, they just disconnect.'

He said that he had made sporadic calls to friends in search of solace and had even enquired of the local funeral director about evidence of an afterlife.

To support Nicholas in fulfilling his lifelong dream of travel, his friends have established a GoFundMe page.

After establishing a goal of $5000, they raised $17,000 to assist the boilermaker to 'tick off some items on his bucket list'.

Health experts confirmed that nodular melanomas can spread to major organs within three months after they first develop.

The story is a reminder of how important it is to take care of your health and get regular checkups, even if you feel perfectly healthy. Cancer, after all, is often asymptomatic in its early stages, so it's important to be vigilant about any changes in your body.

If you notice any suspicious lumps, bumps, or moles, be sure to see a doctor right away. It could very well be nothing, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Praying for the young man and his family.

 

[888D.C888]

Tragic state of affairs altogether! The mole looks cancerous as it has irregular edges plus a bluish discolouration. Tragic that these GP's who dismissed him actually work in QLD yet they are not proactive with getting suspicious moles checked by a skin specialist!
I feel for Nicholas and his family.

GP's need to be trained in recognizing skin cancers, any mole that changes size, colour or has irregular edges needs to be checked.

Always follow your gut feeling & get another medical opinion from another doctor.

This happened to me as well.
I had a suspicious looking lump that appeared just under my eye. I saw two GP's in Melbourne, Victoria about it, who both said it was OK & not to worry. Six months later I attended a GP in Darwin for another matter who said he did not like the look of the lump under my eye because it had a blood vessle running through it. I told him I did not like the look of it either, and that I had seen two different GP's in Melbourne, Victoria who had both dismissed my concerns.
My Darwin GP referred me to a surgeon who cut it out & advised me how very lucky I was as it was a basal cell carcinoma.

 

[Ezzy]

Bloody doctors , I have lost so must trust in them.

My friends daughter had discomfort down below with blood when she went to the toilet.

This was November 2017

she went to her doctor and was told it was haemorrhoids it got a little worst so she went back and was told the same thing, she was assured it wasn't bowel cancer and that she was too young.

She went and got another opion and they said the same thing.

She was feeling alot of discomfort so she went to a 3rd doctor , again told the same.

January 2018 her symptoms were getting worst, A close friend took her to their doctor, she said maybe it is haemorrhoids but wanted to put her in hospital for testing.

Results showed it was stage 4 bowel cancer .

They started chemo ect but she died on 26.4.2018 only 5 months from her first symptom. She was only 29 and healthy , non smoker, exercised regularly
The doctor said they needed tto catch it early as in young people bowel cancer spreads very fast if she was alot older it would have progressed slower.

My grandfather went to his doctor for a lump on his neck was told to just leave it as it's just a cyst. It was cancer he died 12 months later

Surgeons stuffed my stomach up by putting recalled mesh in and stitching it to my bowel. For nearly 3 years I've been suffering and before that I lived a busy and healthy life

I now tell people get a second, a third and more opions. Doctors do make mistakes. They are not God and they are not superior

Do not be afraid to get that second opion and don't be afraid to ask questions. It's your body, it's your life


My mother visited me last week and asked if I had a dry patch on my forehead checked , this article has just pushed me to do it.

We here at the Seniors Discount Club are always preaching about the importance of taking care of your health, and this story is a perfect example of why that's so important.

You might not think that something as simple as going to get your haircut could potentially lead to you finding out about a life-threatening condition, but for one Queensland man, that's exactly what happened…

Nicholas Smithson, a 38-year-old boilermaker from Rockhampton, Queensland, was diagnosed with terminal cancer after his hairdresser noticed a suspicious-looking mole on his neck during a routine appointment.

The hairdresser urged Nicholas to get the mole checked out by a doctor or skin specialist, but when he did, he was twice dismissed and told there was nothing to worry about.

Thankfully, Nicholas listened to his gut instinct and went to see a third doctor who immediately ordered a biopsy.

The tradie was initially turned down by two doctors who shrugged off the risks of his cancerous mole. Credit: Daily Mail.​

The results showed that the growth was indeed cancerous – specifically, nodular melanoma – and had already spread beyond the blackened mole to his lymph nodes.

Doctors explained the 'worst case scenario' after finding out about his condition.

He shared: 'I remember I looked at my partner and said, "I'm going to f-ing die, this is going to kill me."'

'We went to my house and just stared at the blank wall and cried.'

Nicholas has since been raced to Brisbane for surgery in an attempt to remove all of the cancerous cells before they spread any further.

He underwent a 10-hour, bilateral neck dissection procedure to have his neck's lymph nodes removed.

However, he discovered a new growth behind his ear eleven days later.

His cancer, unfortunately, spread and he was given a prognosis of 6 months by the doctors. Credit: Daily Mail.​

It was only after going through a PET scan that he learned that his cancer had spread throughout his body and he could no longer hope for a cure.

Doctors gave him six months to live in August.

He remarked: 'It's like in the movies when people are given bad news, they just disconnect.'

He said that he had made sporadic calls to friends in search of solace and had even enquired of the local funeral director about evidence of an afterlife.

To support Nicholas in fulfilling his lifelong dream of travel, his friends have established a GoFundMe page.

After establishing a goal of $5000, they raised $17,000 to assist the boilermaker to 'tick off some items on his bucket list'.

Health experts confirmed that nodular melanomas can spread to major organs within three months after they first develop.

The story is a reminder of how important it is to take care of your health and get regular checkups, even if you feel perfectly healthy. Cancer, after all, is often asymptomatic in its early stages, so it's important to be vigilant about any changes in your body.

If you notice any suspicious lumps, bumps, or moles, be sure to see a doctor right away. It could very well be nothing, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Such a sad story that immediately bought tears to my eyes. Only 38 with his whole life ahead of him only to be cut short by this cancer. He was lucky the hairdresser noticed it. How the first Doctors can dismiss this as nothing without a biopsy is unacceptable. I hope he & his partner are able to cross off some of those items on his 'bucket list' before his life ends. Great to see the financial support he has received to help him accomplish these.

 

[Lynette Finnigan]

This happened to my dad too... he developed a cancer in his eye, they removed his eye, several years later, he got a lump on his neck, had a scan and was told he had 2 to 6 months to live (he only lived 2 mths), the doctor we saw said "its a wonder they didn't pick it up with follow-up scans"... they never once offered dad follow-up scans!! Someone stuffed up somewhere!! And my dad paid the price

 

[Ezzy]

Bloody doctors , I have lost so must trust in them.

My friends daughter had discomfort down below with blood when she went to the toilet.

This was November 2017

she went to her doctor and was told it was haemorrhoids it got a little worst so she went back and was told the same thing, she was assured it wasn't bowel cancer and that she was too young.

She went and got another opion and they said the same thing.

She was feeling alot of discomfort so she went to a 3rd doctor , again told the same.

January 2018 her symptoms were getting worst, A close friend took her to their doctor, she said maybe it is haemorrhoids but wanted to put her in hospital for testing.

Results showed it was stage 4 bowel cancer .

They started chemo ect but she died on 26.4.2018 only 5 months from her first symptom. She was only 29 and healthy , non smoker, exercised regularly
The doctor said they needed tto catch it early as in young people bowel cancer spreads very fast if she was alot older it would have progressed slower.

My grandfather went to his doctor for a lump on his neck was told to just leave it as it's just a cyst. It was cancer he died 12 months later

Surgeons stuffed my stomach up by putting recalled mesh in and stitching it to my bowel. For nearly 3 years I've been suffering and before that I lived a busy and healthy life

I now tell people get a second, a third and more opions. Doctors do make mistakes. They are not God and they are not superior

Do not be afraid to get that second opion and don't be afraid to ask questions. It's your body, it's your life


My mother visited me last week and asked if I had a dry patch on my forehead checked , this article has just pushed me to do it.

You have certainly been touched with cancers in family or friends because of bad calls by doctors & you too have experienced a bad call.
Reading your story here made me cry. A young life taken because of a misdiagnosis & your grandfather too. Further diagnosis for a medical condition which causes concerns aren't an option, they are tantamount. There is no embarrassment in doing so. Better to pay a few $'s than lose your life because of a bad diagnosis.

I have heard similar stories myself & have seen friends die so quickly after a diagnosis. Always very sad & could have been alleviated if Drs got it right.

 

[Ezzy]

Tragic state of affairs altogether! The mole looks cancerous as it has irregular edges plus a bluish discolouration. Tragic that these GP's who dismissed him actually work in QLD yet they are not proactive with getting suspicious moles checked by a skin specialist!
I feel for Nicholas and his family.

GP's need to be trained in recognizing skin cancers, any mole that changes size, colour or has irregular edges needs to be checked.

Always follow your gut feeling & get another medical opinion from another doctor.

This happened to me as well.
I had a suspicious looking lump that appeared just under my eye. I saw two GP's in Melbourne, Victoria about it, who both said it was OK & not to worry. Six months later I attended a GP in Darwin for another matter who said he did not like the look of the lump under my eye because it had a blood vessle running through it. I told him I did not like the look of it either, and that I had seen two different GP's in Melbourne, Victoria who had both dismissed my concerns.
My Darwin GP referred me to a surgeon who cut it out & advised me how very lucky I was as it was a basal cell carcinoma.

A very close call.

 

[Ezzy]

I noticed a spot on my husband's skin that I'd not noticed before. He went to the doctor who thought it probably wasn't anything untoward but sent him to a specialist "just in case". Tests showed it was a melanoma, caught very early and with a great outcome. My husband's skin is scanned every few months now and he has had several moles removed but they were not cancerous. I don't understand doctors who do not investigate when a patient is concerned about something. Had that pale brown mole not been checked my husband would have been dead by now.

Good call, lucky man.

 

[Iggydi]

My husband and I get our skin checked every year we also have a full medical every year. We have been doing this since we were 50 we are now 66 and 68 and in the last 7 years my husband has had many skin cancers removed. His prostate removed as they found a small cancer through his PSA levels jumping significantly over the course of a year and I had a melanoma removed that was a grade one (caught it early). I have had a few biopsies for breast lumps as well (they were all fine). We have been going to the same doctors for many years now so they know our history and they check everything for us. It's sad that doctors are still not checking moles, or spots on the skin and just dismissing it. How many lives can be saved if they did check thoroughly? So sad for Nicholas and his family