A postman took his own life having wrongly believed he had contracted pancreatic cancer.

Jack Fane, who lived at home with his parents in Thame, was described by his mother as a ‘Peter Pan-type who didn’t want to grow up’ and who had struggled with turning 30-years-old a week before his death.

He had become increasingly fixated on the idea that he had pancreatic cancer, although his fears that he had the aggressive form of cancer appeared to be unfounded.

Oxford Coroner’s Court heard that on April 14 and 17 he was admitted to A&E, including on one occasion with chest pains. He was discharged, although a referral was made to a gastroenterology specialist.

His mother, Diane, said her son had appeared ‘quite disappointed’ to be told by doctors they believed he was suffering from acid reflux.

“He wanted a proper scan of his pancreas to tell what was wrong,” she said. He had an appointment with a private gastroenterologist and had asked his GP to take blood samples that could be sent off for tests.

Mrs Fane said she thought Jack ‘genuinely believed’ he had pancreatic cancer. Although he had struggled with periods of low mood in previous years, his parents did not believe he planned to harm himself.

“Neither [my husband] nor I saw this coming at all,” she said in a statement read by senior coroner Darren Salter on Wednesday.

His mother said she had last seen Jack at 4am on April 26, the day of his death, when he walked into her bedroom. Later, at around 10.45am, she went to check on him as he had not appeared downstairs, and found him unresponsive in his room with a ligature around his neck.

Investigating officer DC Ed Horley said police had analysed searches on Mr Fane’s phone and the handwritten contents of two notebooks. They led officers to the conclusion he had ‘become worryingly focused on his physical health and developed some form of paranoia about it’.

There was no evidence to indicate that a third party was involved in his death, the officer said.

As well as planned medical appointments, he had a holiday booked and had sent no messages to friends or left a note indicating he was intending to take his own life.

No full post-mortem investigation had taken place to establish conclusively whether Mr Fane did have pancreatic cancer, the inquest heard.

The coroner ruled a conclusion of suicide. In the absence of any evidence that Mr Fane’s death was accidental, Mr Salter concluded ‘on the balance of probabilities he did intend the outcome to be fatal’.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

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