My doctor turned me away when I complained about a persistent cough at 16… weeks later I received the devastating cancer diagnosis that changed my life forever

A 16-year-old girl who went to the doctor with a bad cough received a devastating cancer diagnosis just weeks later.

Daisy first went to the GP in March 2023 where she was prescribed antibiotics for a suspected chest infection.

She also found small lumps on her head which continued to get worse and led the teenager from Derbyshire to visit A&E after she started having trouble breathing.

After carrying out a chest X-ray and blood tests Daisy was sent home with a stronger prescription of antibiotics. 

Just three days later she was called back to A&E where her ‘worst nightmare’ was confirmed – Daisy was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. 

‘I was in shock. I never in a million years thought it could happen to me. My mum was also in shock and I cried into her arms,’ Daisy told Derbyshire Live.

The then-16-year-old immediately started treatment at the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre, where she swapped going to school and spending time with her friends for intense chemotherapy and weekly lumbar punctures.

‘Like any other 16-year-old, I loved being independent and do things like going on walks with friends or going on runs, so when I could no longer do that, it really affected me,’ she said.

Daisy had side effects such as losing her hair and feeling sick which massively lowered her confidence.  

During her time in hospital, Daisy was supported by Niamh –  a Teenage Cancer Trust’s youth support coordinator- who introduced her to other teenagers going through cancer treatment.

Praising the youth support coordinator, Daisy said that her cancer defined her for a time but Niamh saw her as ‘someone outside of my cancer diagnosis’. 

Daisy is encouraging people to back Teenage Cancer Trust’s Only Young Once campaign which raises awareness of being diagnosed with cancer as a teenager or young adult a critically important and formative time of your life.

She added that while her cancer milestones were not ones she expected to have Daisy still recognises them as milestones and is proud of the progress she has made so far. 

With the help of the cancer trust, she has taught herself to walk and write again and has learnt ‘valuable life lessons that most 16–17-year-olds don’t even realise until later on in their life’.

Daisy is continuing to have monthly small doses of chemotherapy and daily chemotherapy orally to help ensure her leukaemia doesn’t return.

Her treatment is due to finish at the end of June and she is grateful to be cancer free. 

Kate Collins, chief executive at Teenage Cancer Trust, said: ‘Every day seven young people in the UK are told they have cancer. This is at a time when they feel like their life is just getting started. 

‘A cancer diagnosis cancer can tear young people’s lives apart and threaten to take memories, milestones and futures away. Without the right support, cancer when you’re young can have a devastating impact on the rest of your life.’

‘At Teenage Cancer Trust, we provide specialised care and support to help young people get through cancer and rebuild their lives after treatment. Helping young people hold onto who they are – and who they want to become – in the face of cancer.’

Leukaemia is a cancer the white blood cells. The two main types of white blood cells are  monocytes and granulocytes, which come from myeloid stem cells lymphocytes, which come from lymphoid stem cells. 

Daisy had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia which is most common in young people.

Common symptoms can include feeling really tired all the time, feeling dizzy, headaches, breathlessness, pale skin, frequent infections and bruising easily.