A heartbroken family have claimed their 27-year-old daughter died after GPs missed the opportunity to diagnose her with cancer 20 times despite showing symptoms.
The family of Jessica Brady are currently campaigning for a change in how doctors approach diagnosing cancer in young adults, after their daughter was incorrectly diagnosed with long covid in the months leading up to her death on 20 December, 2020.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, face-to-face GP consultations had been replaced with virtual ones - which meant that Jess was limited in being able to get support from her doctor.
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"She had been ill for six months, but the spring/summer lockdown meant face-to-face consultations with her GP were restricted and numerous antibiotics were prescribed, even in the absence of a physical examination," Jess's mum Andrea Brady explained to The Mirror.
"Jessica was told for months she was suffering from Long Covid despite two negative coronavirus tests."
The family added that Jess would visit the GP a total of 20 times before reaching out to a private doctor in the November, who subsequently diagnosed her with stage 4 adenocarcinoma. By this point her cancer had spread to her spine, liver, stomach, lungs and lymph nodes - the cancer was at this point so advanced that doctors weren't able to establish a primary location.
Jess would be admitted to hospital the same day and would remain there for the following weeks until her death in December, leaving behind a devastated family searching for answers.
"In trying to make sense of what happened to Jess, I began to realise that Jess's age was a major stumbling block to achieving a necessary swift and accurate diagnosis," Andrea reflected.
The family would go on to launch a Change.org petition in 2021, campaigning for Jess's Law - which would overhaul how doctors approached diagnosing illnesses in younger patients.
This would include seeing a patient's case be 'elevated for review' after three visits to the doctor regarding an ongoing condition or symptom. The family also hope to raise more awareness about increasing rates of cancer diagnosis in younger people.
"Jess’s Law may appear to be stating the obvious, but our campaign demonstrates this is sadly not the case," Andrea added in a first-person essay for Metro.
"Countless accounts, shared with me, show clearly that GPs are not proactive in ‘thinking again’ when patients present with the same symptom or condition."
More information about The Jessica Brady Trust can be found here.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
Brenna Cooper