Teen girl, 19, dies just days after birthday as cancer symptom was dismissed as 'hormone problems'
A teenager died from cancer just days after her 19th birthday after her 10lb tumour was dismissed as being 'hormonal problems'.
Liberty York was told it was 'highly unlikely' she had cancer after her symptoms were repeatedly mistaken as something else, including mastitis and an abscess.
She was forced to endure months of appointments before doctors finally discovered she had angiosarcoma, an aggressive soft-tissue cancer and a 10lbs tumour in her chest.
By then, the cancer had already spread to her lymph nodes but there were no available beds for her to have treatment at a specialist cancer hospital.
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Despite later undergoing surgery and chemotherapy, Liberty tragically died in the early hours of June 1 last year – just two days after celebrating her 19th birthday.
Now her devastated mum Hannah York, 41, says her daughter wasn't given a 'fighting chance' as a new campaign launches to stop young cancer patients slipping through the net.
Hannah, of Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, said: "I’m not a medical expert but it just baffles me how they can have something so huge and don’t rule out the most serious thing.
"I think the thing for me is that I always feel some guilt for trusting, for not pushing more.
"When your child takes a long time to be diagnosed, I think there will always be a part of you that wonders, ‘Why didn’t I keep pushing?’
"Throughout Liberty's cancer journey, there often didn't feel like much hope — her cancer was rare, underfunded and under-researched."
Liberty first felt unwell in May 2024 after developing fatigue and nausea, followed by unexplained breast symptoms.
Hannah said: "The doctor suspected it might be hormonal and wanted further investigation, so we had to wait for an appointment."
She was diagnosed with Addison's disease, but when her left breast began to swell, doctors told her it was mastitis and handed out antibiotics.
Five separate trips to the doctors later, breast care finally got involved – but still insisted it was an abscess.
Hannah added: "They said it was highly unlikely to be cancer."
It was only on August 21, 2024 (three months after symptoms began) that a biopsy finally revealed the truth.
With no beds available, Liberty was sent home in agony, unable to walk more than 10 metres, with her breast swollen to ten times the normal size.
Hannah said: "She was in unbearable pain. We hadn't been given any medication. As a mother I felt so helpless."
After a trip to the emergency room, Liberty finally got a bed and underwent surgery on September 10. Surgeons removed the tumour along with her breast, surrounding tissue down to the ribcage, and all lymph nodes in her left armpit.
Liberty caught pneumonia in hospital, developed blood clots, and by November was told the cancer was now incurable after spreading to her left lung.
She started palliative chemotherapy but the cancer spread again in May 2025 after a new lump appeared near her surgical scar.
Liberty made the heartbreaking decision to stop all treatment and came home for end of life care.
Hannah said: "She slept for most of her birthday on 30th May. But she had requested a beautiful Bridgerton themed celebration.
"The only time she asked me 'why', was when she knew she was leaving hospital to come home to die.
"This was something I couldn’t answer, because it didn’t make sense. Liberty passed away in the early hours of 1st June, peacefully in her sleep at home."
Health experts have unveiled fresh guidance amid fears children with soft tissue sarcoma can wait weeks, months or even years for a correct diagnosis because symptoms are often mistaken for more common conditions.
Hannah added: "Liberty’s type of sarcoma was a particularly aggressive sarcoma and, after she was operated on, it had spread to her lungs in just six weeks.
"The difference between days and weeks to diagnosis is so important with sarcoma – she didn’t get a fighting chance.
"I want my awareness work to ensure that some good comes from Liberty’s death and to help other families."
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.
Niamh Shackleton