'Our teen daughter might still be here if breast cancer had been treated like adult'

The parents of a teenage girl who died from breast cancer last year say they may have had more time with their daughter if she’d been treated the same as an adult.

Isla Sneddon, from Airdrie, lived for just six months after being diagnosed. Doctors had downgraded her urgent referral because of her age.

She was just 17 years old when she died in March last year.

Isla Sneddon, from Airdrie, lived for just six months after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Supplied

“She was some lassie, she was brilliant,” her dad, Mark, told STV News.

“You couldn’t not fall in love with her. I should be teaching her how to drive, buying her a car, letting her go on with the rest of her life, but we’re sitting here mourning her death.”

The teenager first went to the GP in July 2022 with a lump in her breast, which was dismissed as benign hormonal changes.

Two years later, GPs suspected she had cancer and made an urgent referral for biopsies, but the referral was downgraded by the clinic because of her age.

GPs suspected Isla Sneddon had cancer and made an urgent referral for biopsies, but the referral was downgraded by the clinic because of her age. Supplied

By the time she received a diagnosis, her cancer had spread, and it was advanced.

In September 2024, a fast-spreading sarcoma was found on the lining of her heart, which had already spread to her heart, lungs, and lymph nodes.

Her family was told she had only months to live.

Isla’s parents believe that if her medical condition had been treated with the same urgency as an adult’s symptoms, she might have had more time.

Michelle and Mark Sneddon (left and right) are fighting for urgent reform after their daughter, Isla, (centre) died of cancer last year. Supplied

At the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, Mark and Michelle Sneddon called for urgent reform.

“We’re left with a lot of what ifs,” Mr Sneddon said.

“What if we had earlier intervention? Would we have had more time with Isla? Would they have picked it up?”

He added: “I think if we had early intervention – if they had treated her the same as an adult, it would have been a different story. Maybe we would have had more time.”

Isla Sneddon, 17, lived for just six months after being diagnosed. Supplied

Their petition asks MSPs to ensure children and young people across Scotland are assessed and treated with the same level of urgency and access to diagnostic tests as adults.

“No young person should be dismissed or have their symptoms underestimated simply because they appear healthy or are perceived to be too young for serious illness,” the petition states.

“This needs to be set in stone with all agencies.”

Isla’s family said they’re fighting to stop other families from going through what they have. In 99% of cases, Mr Sneddon said children like Isla are probably ok because they’re young, but he said Isla was in that other 1%.

“If we can help that 1% and stop a family from going through what we went through, that’s why we’re here in parliament,” he said.

Holyrood’s Public Petitions Committee has agreed to take the petition forward and will formally write to the Scottish health secretary to seek answers.

Health secretary Neil Gray said: “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.”

NHS Lanarkshire has been contacted for comment.

Visit the campaign page Isla’s Army: Fighting For Change on Facebook.