Woman, 39, dying from incurable disease after being refused screening despite family history
A woman refused cancer screening for years due to her age was told that she has terminal breast cancer.
Chantelle Van Der Watt moved to Milton Keynes in the UK from South Africa in 2020, and had previously gone for annual screenings in South Africa as she has a heightened cancer risk due to family history, with both of her grandmothers dying of breast cancer.
When she arrived in the UK Chantelle requested breast cancer screenings due to her family history, but was told that she was not old enough to qualify for them.
On the NHS, the breast cancer screening program only begins at the age of 50.
Advert
After Chantelle spoke to medics at Milton Keynes University Hospital, they said that they would be able to begin giving her screenings when she turned 40.
But in January 2025, when she was 39 years old, Chantelle found a lump, and the following month she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Unfortunately, in April 2025 Chantelle was informed that the cancer had also spread to her bones, and she was given an estimate of having five years to live.
"It's been horrific. I think of my kids, will I ever get to see them get married?" she said. "They give you a time frame and you think 'will I get to see them go to prom?', it's all these little things."
Recalling how things changed after moving to the UK, she said: "When I lived in South Africa, I would go every year for a mammogram even though I was so young.
"When we came to the UK they only do screening from the age of 50, which I thought was a little bit ridiculous.
"Both my grandmas had breast cancer, my grandfather had liver cancer, my other grandfather had prostate cancer."
She added: "I get cross because maybe if they did one screening at the age of 38 maybe we could've picked it up."
Chantelle shared that she had felt 'tired' and 'drained' and that her 'body was sore', and that she had thought she had maybe 'come down with flu'.
"A week before my face-to-face appointment with my GP I found a lump in my breast near to the nipple," she said. "They did a biopsy on it [and] a mammogram.
"They [doctors] kept telling me 'you're still young, you won't get it now'. When I went back they said it was cancer."
Chantelle has now started a fundraiser to help support her family, and hopes that they will be able to buy a house and get out of rented accommodation.
"We've been in the UK six years and this is house number six and I can't keep moving, I just want somewhere my family can call home," she said.
A spokesperson for Milton Keynes University Hospital said: "We are very sorry that Chantelle is facing a cancer diagnosis at such a young age, and our thoughts are with her and her family.
"We remain fully committed to providing Chantelle with the highest standards of care and support throughout her cancer journey.
"The eligibility criteria for breast cancer screening programmes, including the age at which screening is offered, are set nationally and are not determined by the Trust.
"When patients are referred to us because of clinical concerns, they are assessed and investigated through specialist breast services.
"In Chantelle's case, once concerns were raised and appropriate referrals made, investigations were undertaken and a diagnosis reached promptly."
The Department of Health and Social Care were contacted for comment.
Chantelle's fundraiser can be found here.
Kit Roberts