I never thought I'd have to worry about Isobel – then she died at 21 after dismissive doctors said ‘just take ibuprofen'
WHEN Isobel Allen cried to her GP about the pain she was experiencing, the teenager was told not to worry.
It would be several appointments later - and eventually, after opting to go private - that Isobel would find out that her painful periods were the first sign of the disease that would lead to her death.
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Isobel, of Hornchurch, Essex, was a normal 19-year-old girl who liked to go out with her friends and buy new clothes.
She worked as an accounts manager at a recruitment company and her parents say they never worried for her future.
Something about Isobel's pain didn't sit right with mum, Sarah, but she tried to believe the doctors.
But looking back, Sarah realises how Isobel was "let down".
Isobel died on April 2, 2025, aged 21 years old.
She was told she had incurable sarcoma cancer six months after first seeing a GP.
Sarah, a former hairdresser, tells Sun Health: 'The doctors literally thought she was a teenager making a meal out of nothing.
'But I knew she wasn't, I knew that the pain she was in wasn't normal.
'Isobel felt so strongly - and we do as a family - that medics aren't listening to these youngsters. They're being misdiagnosed time and time again.
'She would scream at the TV when she saw one of those NHS adverts saying ' early diagnosis saves lives '. Because we had to pay privately for her diagnosis."
Sarah, who is married to Isobel's dad, Christian Allen, 50, who works in the construction industry, adds: 'I know deep down it isn't our fault, but as parents, there have been times when we've doubted ourselves. But you believe the medical professionals.
'Isobel fought with every bone in her body. At her funeral, her dad said, 'I never thought I'd have to worry about Isabel. She was confident, outgoing, and had everything going for her'.
'And it changed so suddenly.'
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Isobel started having painful periods and spotting - bleeding inbetween - in November 2022. Sarah says they went to the GP 'a few times' before Isobel was given an ultrasound.
'He said it was fibroids [benign growths in the womb] and she started to cry,' Sarah recalls.
'He said, 'Why are you crying?' And she said, 'I'm worried it could be something serious'. He said, 'No, no, it's just fibroids'.
'So we didn't think anything more of it. I have fibroids, a lot of women do.'
But Sarah grew concerned because the pain Isobel was experiencing seemed abnormal, with painkillers barely touching the sides.
By February, she was experiencing 'really bad belly pain' - which Sarah says doctors recommended ibuprofen for - and in March, the pain spread to her back and legs.
They told us Isobel had cancer and it had spread to quite a few places. It wasn't like how you see it on the TV, when they hold your hand. She was told quickly, without compassion.
SarahIsobel's mum
Sarah took her to A&E at Queen's Hospital in Romford on two occasions in March which conducted more ultrasounds.
'By now, Isobel could hardly walk, she was hanging on to me to walk, and had been signed off work,' she says.
'The only time she was happy or comfortable was if she was in the bath or laying on the settee.
'She was running baths at three o'clock in the morning. I just knew it wasn't normal.
'I've found out since this that youngsters can sleep through pain and if they can't, it's something really bad. Now that's all adding up.'
Isobel was also suffering bloating, loss of appetite, night sweats and fatigue - all red flag signs of cancer.
She was referred to The London Independent Hospital and was told by a gynaecologist again that she had a fibroid in the womb. An MRI would have a six month-wait because they were 'prioritising cancer patients'.
'IT SHOULD HAVE NEVER GOT THIS FAR'
The family had had enough, forking out £500 for a private MRI scan, in April 2023.
Two days later, they were seen by a consultant and Sarah "could tell by her face" that it was bad news.
Sarah recalls: 'The consultant said, 'This looks nasty, you should prepare yourselves. She also said it should 'never have got this far'."
Isobel was then referred to Queen's, which told her to come in with a night bag. But she ended up having a 40-day hospital stay.
On Friday May 12, a diagnosis was given to Isobel with her mum and dad there, following a biopsy. The 'fibroid' turned out to be a tumour on Isobel's womb.
Sarah says: 'It wasn't like how you see it on the TV, when they hold your hand. She was told quickly, without compassion.
'They told us Isobel had cancer and it had spread to quite a few places.'
Tumours were eventually found in her lungs, hip and kidneys.
Isobel was blue-lighted to University College London Hospitals (UCLH) because she was so unwell, and a few days later, on Thursday May 18, the family were hit with another devastating blow.
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The symptoms of sarcoma cancer
The most common symptom of soft tissue sarcoma is a lump somewhere on the body.
But this doesn't necessarily mean cancer - there are all sorts of reasons for lumps and swellings, but it must always be checked by a GP.
The lump is usually found deep under the skin and might be felt before it can be seen.
The lump is usually solid to the touch, painless and hard to move around under the skin.
It will continue to grow and as it does, it can become painful.
Other symptoms depend on where in the body the lump is.
These can include:
Tummy pain and constipation if there is a sarcoma near the tummy
A cough that does not go away if there is a sarcoma near the lungs
Source: NHS
Sarah says: 'They told us it was incurable, and that they would do everything they could to prolong her life. Which, at the age of 19, is not what you want to hear.
'I didn't leave her side after that. I was just too scared, let down, devastated… just looking at her and crying. We all cried.
'She would say, 'Why me? Why couldn't I have gotten another cancer?' To go through that as a family, it was unbearable.'
Sarcoma UK say more than 5,100 people are diagnosed with the disease each year.
In a recent study, it was shown to take an average of almost seven weeks to diagnose in children.
Sarcoma develops in the body's bones and soft tissues, such as muscles, fat, blood vessels, nerves, tendons, and joint linings.
There are more than 100 subtypes, the two main ones being soft tissue and bone.
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Cancer Research UK says: 'Soft tissue sarcoma incidence is unusual compared with most cancers because a sizeable proportion of cases occur in children and younger adults; however, the highest incidence rates are in older people.'
Soft tissue sarcoma has a 45 per cent survival rate for 10 or more years.
Devastated by the shocking survival statistics of sarcoma, Isobel knew she had to raise money in the hopes it would contribute to better outcomes for future patients.
She raised £13,000 for Sarcoma UK at a charity ball, and her brother brother, Josh Allen, 24, has since ran the London Marathon, raising £27,000. Her friends are fundraising for Race For Life in July.
FOUGHT 'TIL THE END
Isobel started chemotherapy, but it was a means to extend her time with family, living life as normally as she could between the side effects.
She returned to her work, even commuting to London two days a week, and her supportive friends would plan meet-ups around her chemotherapy schedule so she'd have the energy to join them.
The nurses always laughed that she'd turn up to her chemotherapy in a new outfit, wig and full face of makeup - until she became too weak.
Even when they told us about the tumour on her lung, I was sobbing and she said, 'Come on, mummy, it is what it is'.
SarahIsobel's mum
Eventually, the family got the news that there was nothing more that could be done. It was Christmas 2024, and they were advised to think about end-of-life care.
Sarah says: 'We had some tough conversations with the consultant in January, who said it wasn't looking good. So Isobel knew the time was getting nearer.
'In March, she was struggling to breathe and they took her into hospital to drain fluid from her lungs - but it wasn't fluid, it was a tumour.
'That's when they said we need to get her home and make her comfortable. She wanted to be on the sofa, so we got her bedding down, and we actually all slept in the living room.
'She died the next day, on Wednesday at 10 to 3, at home with her family.
"I just didn't realise it would be that quick.
'Isobel had protected us all along. She fought so hard to carry on as normal, even though the whole time, she had this deadly disease inside of her.
'Isobel was still talking about trying to go on holiday to Spain, she was ordering clothes two days before her death. She was just trying to live like any normal 19-year-old would.
'She was the one comforting us. Even when they told us about the tumour on her lung, I was sobbing and she said, 'Come on, mummy, it is what it is'.'
Speaking of her legacy, Sarah notes a tattoo Isobel got towards the end of her life. It read 'Go Live Life'.
'We've had so many parents and other young girls message us from UCLH to say how she inspired them.
'Even her consultant wrote that she was an 'inspiring young lady'. One girl who rang the bell in December said 'Isobel changed my life'.
'She would light up daycare. She'd tell them not to stop living their life, and they were more than cancer.'
A spokesperson for The London Independent Hospital, said: 'While, it would be inappropriate for us to discuss individual cases, we send our deepest condolences to the patient's family at this extremely difficult time.
" All patients who are referred to us undergo a comprehensive and meticulous consultation to identify and diagnose their symptoms. Should further tests and scans be required to investigate their condition, then these are booked promptly either at our hospital or a referral is made to another appropriate facility.'
Matthew Trainer, Chief Executive, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: 'I'd like to extend our sincere condolences to Isobel's family. We're extremely sorry for their loss.'
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