A talented footballer who was due to become a father for the second time has died following a year-long battle with penile cancer.
Dale Clarke, 26, died at St Oswald’s Hospice in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, on Sunday, a month before his fiancee Paige King is due to give birth to their daughter.
After having an operation to remove some of his penis, Mr Clarke was left unable to feel any sensation during sex.
Against all odds, the pair were told they were expecting their ‘miracle baby’ last year, and the proud couple enjoyed an engagement party in April.
Dale Clarke, 26, on Sunday, a month before his fiancee Paige King (shown left) is due to give birth to their daughter
The young family were also due to move in to a new home soon, but Mr Clarke spent the last weeks of his life confined to a hospice bed before his death.
Mr Clarke, a joiner, was given the devastating news by doctors after discovering a lump on the tip of his member. It grew to the size of a grape before he sought help.
He underwent five operations, nine rounds of radiotherapy and two bouts of chemotherapy – but all proved unsuccessful.
At the time, doctors told him he was one of the youngest people they had treated with the disease.
His coach Tim Hutchinson, who worked with Mr Clarke for a decade, has led the tributes to a ‘lovable scoundrel’ who lived life to the full.
He said: ‘Dale was a really funny lad and a lovely kid. He would do anything for you. He was a larger than life character. He would give you his last penny if you needed it.
The central midfielder, who has a six-year-old son named Cole (pictured), quickly established himself as a key player for Northern Alliance side Forest Hall FC
‘Dale was such a lovable scoundrel. He broke every rule we made but then he’d give you a cuddle and say sorry. To me, he was a mate as well.
‘He put a lot into his life in the short time he was with us. That’s why it’s been such a devastating year, the last week has just been awful.’
Mr Clarke was raised in Forest Hall, North Tyneside, and enjoyed a close bond with mother Kerry, father Dave, brother Adam, 24, and sister Nikki, 28.
He attended Ivy Road Primary School and Monkseaton High School, and honed his footballing skills at Wallsend Boys Club.
The central midfielder, who has a six-year-old son, quickly established himself as a key player for Northern Alliance side Forest Hall FC.
Mr Clarke spoke bravely about his condition in March, and spoke of his hopes that he would be able to live with the disease long enough to see his ‘children grow up’.
Mr Clarke spoke bravely about his condition in March, and spoke of his hopes that he would be able to live with the disease long enough to see his ‘children grow up’
He said: ‘It’s absolutely destroyed me as a person. I struggle to walk to the toilet and my penis has no use other than to try and urinate from it.
‘It has no feeling. The cancer is busy eating away around it so I will probably lose it altogether soon.
‘But I’m a solider. I’ve got my kids to think about and I can’t be selfish and give up.
‘The doctors said I was one of the youngest people they had treated with it and it was one of the most aggressive forms they had seen.
‘Using it sexually – that part of my life is gone now and I’ve accepted it. They could cut it all off and it wouldn’t bother me, that’s how far past it I am.’