- Jane Kelly spent nearly two years trying to get proper medical care for her daughter Megan, whose symptoms were dismissed by doctors
- The teenager was later diagnosed with stage 4 soft cell Ewing sarcoma and underwent a “brutal” chemotherapy regimen
- Megan died at age 19 after doctors told Jane “there was nothing else that could be done”
A mother is opening up about the multiple failings of doctors before her teenage daughter died of cancer.
Jane Kelly from Gateshead, England, recalled being treated like she was “neurotic” when trying to get proper medical care for her daughter, Megan Kelly, who started experiencing symptoms in September 2017.
Megan was 16 years old at the time and was sick with a virus for several weeks that she couldn’t shake. She also dealt with constant urine infections, becoming so ill that by April 2018, she had to leave school due to missing so many days.
After numerous doctors visits, Jane said Megan was diagnosed with glandular fever, scarlet fever and urine infections. However, her symptoms persisted.
“I was worried. My gut feeling was that something was seriously wrong,” Jane told the Institute of Cancer Research. “I had fought my own battle with Hodgkin lymphoma when I was 32. It had taken a year before I was correctly diagnosed, and I recognised much of my own experiences in what Megan was going through.”
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“But the rational side of me wanted to believe the doctors each time we were told she just had a virus,” she admitted. “It was much harder to think that my teenage daughter could have cancer, and it was certainly not something I wanted to hear.”
By 2019, Megan’s condition got worse, and she dealt with a bout of hypothermia. Jane said she was “exhausted from battling with different doctors.”
“I remember saying to the doctor at the walk-in clinic that something needed to be done, that I feared there was something seriously wrong,” she recalled. “But she just rolled her eyes and told me that parents could sometimes be neurotic when it came to their children.”
It wasn’t until June 2019, when Megan was 18, that a doctor correctly diagnosed her, discovering the cause of her symptoms. During a checkup, a doctor felt a mass on her kidney and suspected it was cancer.
After six weeks of tests and biopsies, she was diagnosed with stage 4 soft cell Ewing sarcoma, a type of cancer that occurs in bones or in the soft tissue around the bones, generally affecting young adults and children, according to Mayo Clinic.
Jane said that Megan’s cancer had “probably been there for two years,” and had already spread to her lungs and lymph nodes.
“Megan was feisty, strong, resilient and solution-focused. She listened to her diagnosis, had a cry, then stopped and said: ‘So what are we going to do about it?’” Jane recalled. “Of course, there were dark days, but by and large, she was very positive. She never felt sorry for herself.”
Jane told the outlet that her daughter had to undergo “the most brutal” chemotherapy regimen. “I would be her cheerleader, her punchbag, her advocate, but it was heartbreaking to see her so beaten by the treatment,” she said.
Despite the tough journey, Megan was told in June 2020 that she was in remission. However, doctors told her that “if the cancer returned, there was nothing else that could be done.” Although Megan remained “very hopeful,” within just two months she she started feeling sick again.
Jane could immediately tell that the doctor suspected a relapse, and later learned that she was correct.
“It was the worst news: Megan’s cancer was back and there was nothing else they could do for her. We were told she had a year to live,” Jane explained. “Incredibly, Megan did not even break a sweat. Despite promising myself that I would never cry in front of her, I broke down. But she just turned to me and said: ‘You know what, mum, I’m fine. I’ve been thinking about this moment a lot and I am at peace with it. I am ready.’”
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“She was put on a low dose of chemo to keep the cancer at bay, but after a couple of weeks, she became more unwell,” she continued. “The doctor took me aside and told me it was not working and that Megan only had a few days left. We made the decision not to tell Megan this news. We took her home. It had always been her wish to die at home.”
Megan died December 2020 at 19 years old.
Prior to her death, Megan told her mother that she wanted to raise awareness of childhood cancer and raise funds to help those going through treatment.
Jane said that after her daughter’s death, her family created Megan’s Rose of Hope, a charity to support young people aged 11-25 who were diagnosed with cancer.
“My daughter had an incredible life ahead of her. She was articulate, beautiful, kind and funny – and I often wonder where she would be right now,” Jane told the Institute of Cancer Research. “I can only hope that she would be incredibly proud of what we are doing in her name.”
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