Girl, 15, had chest pain dismissed as 'anxiety' before she died of cancer two years later
Parents are grieving the loss of their 17-year-old daughter who died after her breast cancer symptoms allegedly weren't taken seriously because of her age.
In 2022, when Isla Sneddon was just 15, she went to the doctors with health concerns about a lump in her breast.
However, because she was only a teenager, doctors said the lump was a result of hormonal changes.
It wasn't until two years later that Isla's practitioner suspected that the lump was actually breast cancer and she was referred for a biopsy. However, because of her age, Isla's case was downgraded.
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Devastatingly, by the time Isla was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2024, it was discovered that she had a sarcoma which had already spread to her heart, lungs, and lymph nodes.
With the advanced nature of her cancer in mind, Isla's loved ones were told the teen only had six to 12 months to live.
Isla, from Airdie, Scotland, passed away in March 2025 aged just 17.
Discussing the length of time it took for Isla to get her cancer diagnosis, her mom Michelle told STV News that doctors first said it was anxiety that the teen was experiencing.
"They kept saying Isla had anxiety," said Michelle. "Everything was anxiety."
Soon after the family was told this Isla fell seriously unwell and was diagnosed with cancer.
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.
Her dad 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," he continued. "Then she crashed."
"We nursed her for six months of chemotherapy and she died in our arms in hospital."
Mark and Michelle believe that had Isla been screened faster, they may have had more time with their beloved daughter.
Now, the family are campaigning for Isla's Law to be established, a piece of legislation in Scotland that would require doctors 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 36,000 signatures at the time of writing, and the family will soon be meeting with Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray to discuss their concerns.
You can sign the petition here.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.
Topics: Breast cancer, Scotland, UK News, Cancer, Health
Niamh Shackleton