Schoolgirl told she was suffering exam stress dies of cancer

Schoolgirl told she was suffering exam stress dies of cancer

When schoolgirl ­Natalie Smith went to her GP with constant sickness she was told it was ­probably caused by GCSE exam stress.

Worried mum ­Rachael had already taken her to the doctor’s SEVEN times. Convinced it was something serious she took her again and finally learned the truth â€" ­Natalie was dying of cancer.

For the next 18 months she spent most days in hospital as the illness ravaged nearly every bone in her body.

Rachael was at her daughter’s side throughout her agonising battle with ­Rhadomyosarcoma, which eats away at body tissue.

Natalie faced chemotherapy, suffered countless infections and had an operation to repair her crumbling spine.

She died aged 17 clutching her favourite childhood teddy.

Final weeks: Natalie was reduced to a shell of herself in hospital

Heartbroken Rachael says: “She was so brave and always tried to smile her way through the day, even during the best part of 18 months in hospital when she was in so much pain. She was such a fighter.”

Natalie, who dreamt of ­becoming a doctor, suffered her first symptoms in December 2009 complaining of hip pain.

But two X-rays came back with nothing so she was diagnosed with growing pains and given anti-inflammatories. Over the next few months her muscles began to ache and she struggled for breath walking to school.

When Natalie suffered leaking from her breast in April 2010, panic-stricken Rachael, 36, told a doctor she feared her daughter had cancer. “I was told ­children are too young for breast cancer or pituitary problems, it was just a ‘growing’ hormone thing that will settle,” she said.

“I ended up speaking to a different doctor each time and none of them felt there was a problem. One even ­suggested doing some ­exercise when I said she was aching all over and struggling to breathe when she was walking.

“In May, the first day Natalie was supposed to sit an exam, she was­ ­really sick, all day. So we went to the doctor’s again. They prescribed an anti-sickness tablet and put it down to stress of exams.”

Finally, after Natalie got worse she had an emergency appointment with another doctor and a blood test was ordered. Later that evening the hospital called asking her to come in for emergency ­examinations, including a CT scan.

Devastated: Natalie's mum Rachael Berry

Rachael said: “The results that followed changed Natalie’s life for ever. Her dad Christopher and I were called into a side room and the ­devastating news was broken. It was cancer.

“It had eaten through her bones ­leaving big holes, explaining the pain she had been getting. It had eaten most of her spine. She had it in her lungs, kidneys and lymph glands. We then had to break the news to Natalie. As you could imagine she was devastated and shocked. We were all so numb.”

Natalie, of Market ­Harborough, Leics, was ­transferred to Nott­ingham ­Children’s Hospital where tests found it was a very rare ­form of soft-tissue cancer Rhabdomyosarcoma.

She was at stage four, the last stage, with poor chances of survival. In January 2011, after chemotherapy, she saw a glimmer of hope when a scan showed her cancer had gone. But two months later it returned.

Rachael said: “It was heart-breaking to see the realisation on her face. Once again her dreams had been stolen.”

Bright smile: Happy Natalie as a child

Rachael knew Natalie did not have long to live and her family managed to care for her at home with her brother Luke, 16. She said: “Each day she got weaker. The morning Natalie died I told her how proud of her I was and how brave she was.

“Her breathing changed. I tried some oxygen but her body had already shut down and her little life had ended. But it was as she wanted... at home and in her own surroundings cuddling her ­Happy Feet teddy.”

Rachael, who has set up a ­charity called Buckets of Smiles, to ­deliver buckets of toys and gifts to ­children with cancer, has not yet had the strength to act on her fears that Natalie was let down by the NHS.

Leicestershire County and Rutland Primary Care Trust said: “We are deeply saddened by Natalie’s death. We are very concerned to learn her family are unhappy with the service and care she received from us and we encourage them to get in touch so we can investigate the matter thoroughly”.

  FOR details of Rachael’s charity see  www.bucketsofsmiles.co.uk