16 1GM Tuesday October 20 2020 | the times
News
A young woman who died of cancer
was initially told to take painkillers and
try yoga after doctors put her discom-
fort down to nerve pain.
Dhneep Bains, known as Neepy, died
aged 26 in July after learning that she
had a stage 4 Ewing sarcoma of the pel-
vis and a secondary growth on the lung.
She first saw a GP about constantDhneep Bains with Timmi. Her symptoms began with a persistent pain in her leg pain in her leg more than a year before
PAMother tells of 13-month delay
in daughter’s cancer diagnosis
the diagnosis and went to seek medical
help more than ten times. Specialists
later told her that she would have had
better treatment options had the
cancer been noticed sooner.
Ram Waltho-Brar, her mother, said
that she asked her to share her story.
She said her daughter told her: “I don’t
want anybody else to suffer like I’ve had
to suffer.”
Ms Bains, an aspiring hairdresser,
first went to a doctor about a pain in her
foot in March 2017. Her mother said
that she went back several times but did
not see the same doctor because of a
system of rotation at the surgery. She
was recommended to try riding a bike
and doing stretches and yoga.
Ms Waltho-Brar said that by April
2018 she was crying in pain and drag-
ging her leg. She took her daughter to
A&E but was sent away with pain-
killers. Ms Bains only had a scan after
her mother demanded it on a second
visit. She was then admitted to hospital
and told that she had cancer, under-
going 26 rounds of chemotherapy,
starting in May 2018, and six to eight
weeks of radiotherapy, with gruelling
side-effects.
“Parents shouldn’t have to lose their
child at such an early age,” Ms Waltho-
Brar said.
In a message written in her jour-
nal, Ms Bains, of Rowhedge, near
Colchester, urged others to see a
doctor if they suspected that any-
thing was wrong with their health.
She wrote: “One piece of advice I
can guarantee particularly the
ages between 35 and
under — if you feel
weird in any shape
or form, body feels dif-
ferent, continuous pain
or even if it’s a one-off
— GO TO YOUR
DOCTOR!!!!!!!
“No matter how lit-
tle or small your prob-
lem, you make sure you
get your arse down there
and keep going if they
send you packing.”
Ms Waltho-Brar issharing her daughter’s story as part of
BestToCheck, a Teenage Cancer Trust
campaign. This calls on doctors to
make referrals at the earliest opportu-
nity, even when they have lower levels
of suspicion.
The campaign reminds young people
of the common signs and symptoms of
cancer and, despite the pressure coro-
navirus has placed on the NHS, urges
them to contact their GP as soon as
possible.
Ms Waltho-Brar said: “For me it’s im-
portant to get this awareness out there
for her sake, for her memory’s sake as
well, and for everybody else actually
too. Everybody should be given that
chance of early diagnosis.”
She added: “Neepy was very kind-
hearted, bubbly, she was fun to be
around and she had a great sense of hu-
mour, always joking, smiling, no matter
what.”
Dr Louise Soanes, director of ser-
vices at Teenage Cancer Trust, said:
“Cancer is thankfully rare in teenagers
and young adults, accounting for just 1
per cent of all cancer diagnosis. How-
ever, because cancer is less common in
this age group, they often have to visit
their doctor numerous times before
they get a diagnosis. The sta-
tus quo cannot remain and
we each have a part to
play when it comes to
changing that.”
The trust says that there
are five common cancer
warning signs in young
people. It is urging them to
look out for lumps,
bumps or swellings,
unexplained tired-
ness, changes in the
size, colour or tex-
ture of a mole, or if it
starts bleeding, per-
sistent pain or signif-
icant weight change.
Any of these should
be reported to a GP
swiftly. There is
more advice at http://www.
teenagecancertrust.
org.Emma Yeomans
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