My daughter, 17, died of breast cancer after being told she was ‘too young’

‘We believe that if Isla had been an adult presenting with the same symptoms, there would be a lot more done,’ her dad Mark said
TEENAGE Isla Sneddon passed away of breast cancer after being told she was too young to have the disease.

She first sought medical help at 15 after finding a lump in her breast – and was told by doctors that it unlikely to be cancer.

Instead, they said the lump was probably benign and caused by hormonal changes.

But Isla continued noticing painful breast lumps and GPs recommended she have a biopsy at 17 – but the referral was downgraded due to her age.

By the time Isla was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2024, her family were told that she only had six months to a year left to live.

Her parents, Mark and Michelle, did everything they could to support their daughter through her illness before she passed away in March last year.

Mark and Michelle believe that if Isla’s symptoms had been treated the same as they would have in an adult, Isla’s cancer could have been treatable, and their daughter would still be alive today.

Mark said: “We trusted what we were told. We believe that if Isla had been an adult presenting with the same symptoms, there would be a lot more done.

“There would have been a longer investigation – she wouldn’t have been told it was something she’d grow out of.

“We’ll never know, but we believe that if that had been caught then, it maybe wouldn’t have got to where it was.

“I don’t want another father or mother to feel like we do. We’re empty, we’re lost – I would never wish this on another family.”

In the UK, about 56,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year.

That’s over 150 a day – but most of those will be spotted in older women.

According to Breast Cancer UK, 96 per cent of cases are in women over 40.

Cases in people of Isla’s age are uncommon and remain very low.

The NHS only offers breast cancer screening to women once they turn 50, inviting them to undergo mammograms to spot cancers too small to see or feel.

But if you notice symptoms such as a lump, skin or shape changes in your breasts, you should get those seen to – whatever your age.

Isla’s family is now hoping to change the law to make sure that cancer suspicions in children are treated with the same urgency as those in adults.

Mark said: “If this gets passed, it can save another child from going through what Isla went through.

“Isla was the best daughter you could ask for.

“She was bright and bubbly. She had a really good sense of humour, and she was beautiful.

“Me and her mum adored her – we just wanted her to have the best life she could have.”

‘Last thing on our mind’

Isla first sought help for painful breast lumps in July 2022, but they were dismissed as benign fibroadenoma.

Her condition continued to worsen and, in the summer of 2024, Isla fell seriously ill as a result of her then undiagnosed cancer.

She was taken to her local hospital in Airdrie before spending ten weeks undergoing scans and procedures in various hospitals across Scotland.

It was found that the fast-spreading sarcoma had spread to her heart, lungs and lymph nodes.

“Isla and my wife were in Rome for a holiday, and the next week she [became unwell] and ended up in hospital,” said Mark.

“We were never thinking it was cancer – there was no history of cancer in mine or my wife’s family. It was the last thing on our mind.

“When she took unwell and went into the NHS, she had fantastic care – but by the time they diagnosed Isla with cancer, it was too late.

“At the end of 10 weeks in hospital, they told us Isla had cancer and she would be transferred to the Beatson [West of Scotland Cancer Centre].

“Me and my wife were thinking there would be stages and we could see what stage she was at and see what treatment she needed.

We thought we’d have a lot more time with her. It was so horrible. It’s the sort of thing you see on television – it happens to other people and you don’t think it’ll happen to youMark Sneddon

“We got to the Beatson, and a woman took us into a room and said our daughter was going to die. She had six months to a year to live.

“It had spread from her breast to her lungs, her heart and her lymph nodes.

“By the time they detected it, it was too late – it was damage limitation.

“Isla didn’t want to know. She just wanted to live as best as she could.”

Her adoring family spent as much quality time with Isla as possible in the months leading up to her death, before her condition worsened suddenly.

Mark said: “She got up on a Sunday morning and said, ‘Dad, I don’t feel well, I think you need to take me to hospital.’

“She would never ask to go to hospital, because she’d been in hospital for so long.

“We had waited six hours for an ambulance, so me and my brother put her in a wheelchair – we couldn’t lift her because she was so fragile – and we took her to the hospital.

“They took her straight in and said her needs were too complex for the hospital, but they couldn’t move her. Then she crashed.

“We nursed her for six months of chemotherapy and she died in our arms in hospital.

“We thought we’d have a lot more time with her.

“It was so horrible. It’s the sort of thing you see on television – it happens to other people and you don’t think it’ll happen to you.”

Isla’s Law

The family have been campaigning for the last year to establish Isla’s Law – which would require GPs to ensure urgent paediatric referrals are subject to the same maximum wait times as adult cancer referrals.

Their petition on Change.org has attracted over 35,000 signatures, and the family will be meeting with Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray next month to discuss their concerns.

Health secretary Neil Gray told STV: “I would like to express my deepest sympathies to the family of Isla Sneddon for their very sad loss.

“I will be meeting with her family next week to further discuss their petition and concerns.

“We published updated Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer on August 6, which include a new children and young person’s referral guideline.

“These will help to ensure the right person is on the right pathway at the right time.”

Arwel Williams, NHS Lanarkshire’s director of acute services, said: “Our team have been responding to the family’s concerns through correspondence and face to face meetings and we have reassured the family that Isla’s treatment was in line with expected clinical pathways.

“However, we fully recognise how devastating this has been to the family and our thoughts and sincere sympathies remain with them. We continue to engage with the family and will provide any further support we can.”

A link to the petition can be found here.