Fred’s Book is fundraising in loving memory of my husband “Emeka Fred Njoku” who died of Osteosarcoma 20 months after diagnosis. Our hearts are broken and torn apart that he is no longer with us.

We are raising money to assist cover the cost of an unexpected funeral with a memorial service as the family deals with this loss.

Fred unexpectedly passed away on 01/02/2024 leaving behind his wife Doris and their two kids. The family is shocked and saddened by this loss and unfortunately not financially prepared as this was unexpected. To say that we are shocked is an understatement.

If you knew Emeka Fred Njoku, you’d know how much he touched the lives of everyone around him. It’s now our turn to give back and help Doris who is alive and her children as they deal with the loss of Fred.

Any donation, large or small, is so meaningful to us because it will be in Fred’s name and will carry on his legacy.

Emeka Fred Njoku will forever be with us, in our hearts and lives. His memory will continue to live on forever.

TRAUMATIC DEATH OF MY HUSBAND

AP EMEKA FRED NJOKU (SOMEBODY)

“A GREAT AND TALL IROKO TREE HAS FALLEN”

My beloved husband (SOMEBODY), the love and rare gift of my life Emeka Fred Njoku took his last breath at the hospital on Thursday the 1st of February 2024 which ended his pain and suffering. Fred was incredibly brave and calm. The battle was hard but he fought on as a hero.

Fred was the greatest husband, father, son, brother, and uncle there ever was. He's an absolute icon and touched many lives with his nature and will be remembered for the beautiful soul he was. But this disease is indiscriminate.

He was just 46years of age. A man of great strength and perseverance, which was especially evident during his fight against the "very rare and highly aggressive cancer". After first developing symptoms (cheek and jaw pain) in January 2022, trips to the GP and A&E didn’t flag anything serious.

After months of going back and forth with his doctor and dentist, the swollen nature of the site together with the constant headaches prompted for more detailed scans and tests. The results were of concern and a CT scan confirmed the worst.

He was diagnosed with pleomorphic sarcoma: Osteosarcoma (cancer of the bones), on the 14th June 2022 after series of MRI, CT and PET scans.

For 2 years, the 999 for an ambulance was a regular dial each week as he was constantly admitted into and discharged from the hospital with countless loads of medications. We were initially given the assurance that it was curable with surgery and chemotherapy and was told that palliative chemotherapy was the first line of treatment to stop or slow the growth of the cancer, but the tumour failed to shrink.

In September 2022, he underwent 18 hours of surgery after two failed cycles of chemotherapy, the tumour was removed without any complications.

The first year of treatment management was pretty good but the last six months were more challenging.

Along the treatment process and following the surgery, the doctors agreed to start him on chemotherapy to be certain.

After recovering from surgery, Fred bounced back and stayed well for six months while awaiting jaw reconstruction.

Sadly, just six months later, in March 2023, a routine scan revealed tumour progression and we received the devastating news from the histology report which confirmed that the tumour had recurred and was more aggressive than the original tumour.

The diagnosis also meant that he would have to undergo a course of radical radiotherapy and chemotherapy in the subsequent months.

In December 2023, the clinicians shared that the chemo appeared not to be working because a further spread of the cancer to his lungs surfaced as well as pneumonia and possibly sepsis.

After the last chemotherapy on the 8th of December 2023, he began being too sick, getting headaches and withdrawn. A lot of interventions and trips to the hospital were needed, but he kept being cheerful and courageous throughout. His post-treatment scans showed evidence of more progression and he was told that, tragically, there was nothing else they could do for him.

We kept going until he couldn’t anymore due to the condition being metastatic.

The cancer was considered terminal and would likely never enter remission. It was horrendous.

Fred's health unexpectedly deteriorated "very quickly" but he bravely fought one heck of a hard fight against the cancer and to defeat the odds. "Right up until the end" he was still fighting, enduring gruelling treatments and countless setbacks.

On the Wednesday the 31st of January 2024, he got progressively worse and his pain and breathing were difficult to manage. He was becoming more agitated regardless of the dosage increase of the pain relief on each occasion. He had a non-stop bleeding from the tumour site.

In January 2024, he got referred to the Royal Marsden Hospital where he was booked to be seen on Thursday the 1st of February, 2024.

At about 4am on Thursday 1st of February 2024, I had a phone call from the hospital to report at the earliest. Unfortunately, he passed away on that day and never made it for his appointment.

He never spoke about any dying wishes. We never thought the cold hands of death would come knocking on our door so soon.

“You may be physically absent from me but the legacy you left behind yet lives on even in your absence.

You’ll always be the missing piece of my heart. Your legacy of love and kindness will live on in our children and grandchildren.

Our love transcends the boundaries of life and death. Your love was the light that brightened my darkest days. Your memory will be my solace in moments of grief.

Marrying you was one of the best and sweetest decisions I made in my life.

“I see your smile in our children’s eyes and your love in their hearts.”

Though we part in this world, our souls remain entwined forever.

“Our love story may have ended, but the chapters you wrote with me will be cherished forever.”

Our kids still believes that Daddy will one day be totally healed and return again.

“There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart.”