A teenage girl has sadly died of breast cancer due to her urgent breast cancer referral was downgraded due to her age.

In mid 2022, at the age of 14, Isla Sneddon first went to hospital. She attended with painful lumps in her breasts, but she was told that the presenting symptoms were not a cause for concern and were likely due to hormonal changes within her body.

She returned to the GP in 2024 at the age of 16, with continuing symptoms, but despite her GP making an urgent referral, it was downgraded by the Hospital who received the referral. This was due to Isla’s age, as the national guidelines for suspected cancer said that any new breast lump in a patient over the age of 30 should be treated as an urgent referral and result in the patient being seen within two weeks, whilst for those under 30, they are treated as routine.

After the urgent referral was reduced to a routine referral, Isla was seen for a biopsy two months later in August 2024 and was told that she likely had a benign tumour.

However, six days later, Isla and her family were informed that there was a sac filled with fluid around her heart, and fluid in her lungs. This was then found to be an aggressive form of cancer known as sarcoma. This is a rare form of aggressive cancer that is often initially found in the bones and soft tissue. In Isla’s case, the cancer had originated in her breast, and had spread to her heart, lungs and lymph nodes. She sadly died just 6 months and two days after her diagnosis.

What can we learn from this?

Within the UK, this case is a stark reminder of the risk of developing cancer in people of ALL ages. Cancer does not discriminate as to age and although there is an increased incidence rate of breast cancer with age, there are increasing numbers of people presenting with breast cancer at a young age.

Isla was from Scotland and so Scottish guidelines applied to her care; however, similar downgrading of referrals could take place in England and Wales, as the NICE guidelines similarly say that non-urgent referral should be considered for people under the age of 30 if they present with a breast lump, with or without pain.

In such circumstances, a delay in diagnosis can occur and this can allow the cancer to spread elsewhere in the body, such as was the case with Isla. This can have a significant impact on whether the cancer is able to be cured or not.

If you have suffered misdiagnosis or delay in diagnosis related to any form of cancer and you have a worse prognosis as a result of this, you may have a claim for clinical

negligence. At Williamsons, we deal with a large variety of clinical negligence compensation claims in respect of medical care in England and Wales, including missed/delayed diagnosis of cancer.

If you feel that you have been the victim of any form of clinical negligence, whether from the NHS or in respect of private treatment, please do not hesitate to contact our Clinical Negligence Department to discuss how we may be able to help.