A teenager whose symptoms of cancer were constantly dismissed as teenage 'grumpiness' has spoken of her sadness that she will never be able to have children.
Amy Quinn, from Glasgow, began to feel tired and suffered from a constant pain in her left side from late 2011.
But it took a year for doctors to diagnose a rare and aggressive form of ovarian cancer that had spread so much she needed her ovaries, fallopian tubes and appendix removed - leaving her infertile at 19.
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Amy Quinn began to feel tired and suffered from a constant pain in her side from late 2011. But doctors failed to take her symptoms seriously because of her age and she was only diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer nearly a year later
She told MailOnline: ‘It wasn't easy convincing anyone I was ill. I had a pain in my left side that never seemed to go away.
‘I also felt tired all the time and started to give up things that I’d always loved, like dancing and musical theatre.
'I went to the doctor and explained but she dismissed me as being a grumpy teenager.'
Over time, the pain got worse and worse and it got to the point where she couldn’t get out of bed.
'I was taking painkillers all the time but they didn’t help,' says Amy, now 20. 'I was also going to the loo more often – now I know that’s because the tumour was pressing on my bladder.'
Treatment: After eventually being diagnosed, Amy began six months of chemotherapy in February and had lost all her hair within a month. Despite her gruelling treatment, she remained positive, pictured here with her grandmother having playfully stolen her wig
After five visits, her GP conceded she might have a cyst. 'But I disagreed, says Amy. 'A cyst wouldn’t make me feel so weird all the time, but she wouldn't listen. It was so frustrating.’
‘About two years before, I’d had a Teenage Cancer Trust cancer awareness session at school, so I knew I had to keep going back if the symptoms persisted.
Eventually as the pain got worse I was sent for a scan which did show a mass, but I was still told it was a cyst and nothing to worry about.’
Because of the doctor’s lack of concern over her symptoms, Amy was marked down as non-urgent and waited eight months for an operation to remove the cyst.
'I had always wanted to have a family one day but I didn’t have time to save any eggs.'I remember just lying in the ward, crying.'
By the time the operation came round in November last year, she felt worse than ever: ‘I told the surgeon I had concerns, and for the first time someone listened to me.
‘Looking back, this conversation may have saved my life. The surgeon agreed to have an extra look about while he was in there.’
When she came round from the operation, the surgeon explained he had removed the cyst, but had also sent some other tissue for testing. ‘He told me it was most likely an infection,’ says Amy.
But a few weeks later she was called for an urgent scan.
‘I said to my parents "I think I have cancer" but they thought I was being dramatic,’ recalls Amy.
‘But I just knew it – you know when you’re not well.’
The news that followed was devastating. ‘The only words I remember the surgeon saying were “It’s cancer” – I don't remember the rest of the meeting. I couldn’t speak and I felt numb. How could this be happening to me? I was 19 and scared. I felt really alone.
Amy is now in remission and urging other teenagers not to ignore persistent symptoms such as extreme tiredness and pain
‘But, on the other hand, it was a relief that I had finally got a diagnosis, having spent so long trying to convince everyone there was something wrong with me.'
Doctors at Glasgow Royal Infirmary explained she would need further surgery, scheduled for New Year’s Eve: ‘I was told the cancer was probably small because it hadn’t been picked up on the scan. They couldn't have been more wrong.’
Surgery had revealed Amy had a rare form of ovarian cancer called Low Grade Serous Carcinoma – and surgeons had been forced to remove her ovaries, fallopian tubes and appendix as it had spread so much.
Surgeons were forced to remove Amy's ovaries, fallopian tubes and appendix as the cancer had spread so much. She is pictured singing at a Teenage Cancer Trust event
The radical surgery meant she had been thrown into the menopause at 19 and would never be able to have children.
‘It felt horrible to suddenly be infertile,’ says Amy. ‘I had always wanted to have a family one day and didn’t have time to save any eggs because my ovaries had been removed so suddenly. I remember just lying in the ward, crying.
I can never conceive a child, which still hurts me. I also started my menopause at just 19, something else my friends wouldn't understand.
In February this year, a month after surgery, Amy began six months of chemotherapy .
‘Chemo was difficult; I became very sick and fragile and a month later, I had no hair.
‘I have been a Christian for years and this really challenged my faith. I questioned how a caring God could do this to me. This time was hard for those closest to me too, but they helped me pull through. I kept my brave face on to please everyone around me.
‘One thing that really helped was having my chemo at the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, where everyone is aged between 16 and 24.
Amy has now finished her treatment and is in remission. ‘I am so pleased the treatment is over but I’m experiencing effects of the chemo now such as bowel problems.’
She firmly believes that had she been older, her symptoms would have been taken more seriously.
‘There’s no doubt in my mind that an older woman would have been tested for cancer.
‘I even remember my doctor saying I was too young to have it. I’ve met other people through the Teenage Cancer Trust who were told the same thing.
Indeed, a report released by the Teenage Cancer Trust this week shows that over a third of young people with cancer (37 per cent) are diagnosed through admission to accident and emergency. This is nearly three times the number of adults diagnosed in this way.
Of these young people, over a quarter (26 per cent) had already been to see their GP with cancer symptoms. The report also highlights that diagnosis through A&E is associated with poorer outcomes and care.
Amy is now back at university studying business and trying to get on with life. She is also passionate about raising awareness of teenage cancer symptoms. (Pictured with Alex Neil, Scottish Health Secretary)
WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON SIGNS OF CANCER IN TEENAGERS?
The five most common signs of cancer in young people aged 13 to 24 are persistent and unexplained:
Pain
Lump, bump or swelling
Significant weight loss
Extreme tiredness
Changes in a mole
Around seven young people aged 13 to 24 are diagnosed with cancer every day in the UK and more young people die as a result than any other disease.
While it is accepted that early diagnosis leads to better outcomes in adults, cancer in young people is harder to diagnose because the signs are so similar to other less harmful problems.
This means young people with cancer are frequently misdiagnosed with issues like infections, sports injuries and exam stress.
Amy is now back at university studying business and trying to get on with life. She is also passionate about raising awareness of teenage cancer symptoms.
‘I want to stress to other people my age not to dismiss persistent symptoms. Keep going back until someone takes you seriously.’
Follow Teenage Cancer Action Week on www.facebook.com/teenagecancertrust and twitter @teenagecancer.
