A devastated daughter believes her mother could have survived if doctors hadn’t spent months misdiagnosing her rare cancer as a harmless cyst.
Lauren Mellor, 26, watched her mother Mandy Mitchell struggle with a growing lump on her leg for months before finally receiving a diagnosis of spindle cell sarcoma – by which time the cancer had spread throughout her body. The 60-year-old swimming teacher died in December 2023, just weeks after being told she was expected home for Christmas.
Lauren from Swadlincote in Derbyshire says: ‘If doctors had diagnosed my mother’s cancer earlier, she could still be alive today.’ She now wants to raise awareness of the disease which she says her GPs had never heard about.
Mandy first noticed a lump on the back of her leg in July 2022. Doctors told her it was just a cyst, and she was given antibiotics and a cream to rub on it.
However, the lump was growing – so much so that it made walking difficult for Mandy. On the day she was due to have surgery to remove the lump, the surgeon said: ‘I can’t remove this, it doesn’t look like a cyst, we need to do more tests.’
Those tests finally revealed the terrible news in January 2023 that she had spindle cell sarcoma. There are an average of 173 cases of spindle cell sarcoma diagnosed every year in England, accounting for 0.06% of all cancer diagnoses.
Lauren said: ‘We had no idea what sarcoma was. A nurse had to explain it to us. Despite this, mum remained really positive.’
The tumour in her leg – which measured up to six inches – was removed. But there was worse news in March when Mandy was told the cancer had spread to her shoulder, pelvis and lungs.
Mandy was put on courses of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Initially, she responded well to the treatment and her family was preparing for her to return home from hospital for Christmas 2023.
But she was kept in hospital after complaining of chest pains and had suspected pneumonia. Alongside the cancer in her lungs, medics then gave the family the shocking news that there was nothing more they could do.
Lauren said: ‘On 6 December we suddenly received a call to be at the hospital quickly and were told that she had sadly reached end of life and all her treatment was to stop. She was only to be given medicine to make her comfortable until the time came. This news was sudden and shocked all our family and friends as we were always told mum was on the mend and fighting well.’
Mandy died aged 60 on 8 December 2023.
‘Mum was the bravest and toughest lady throughout her whole fight with cancer. She continued to smile and laugh every day,’ said Lauren.
Of her mother’s care, Lauren said: ‘I don’t have much faith in the NHS anymore. If mum had been diagnosed early, she could have lived. Instead, she spent a couple of months putting cream on her leg, which was doing no good. She had responded so well to the treatment she received after she was diagnosed with sarcoma.’
Lauren, 26, a beautician, discovered charity Sarcoma UK and, with her boyfriend Rhett, took part in a sponsored skydive from 13,000ft over Nottinghamshire earlier this year to raise more than £1,000 for their work.
‘I know my mum would want to do everything in her power to allow no other families to receive the news that we did, which is why I wanted to help Sarcoma UK. There needs to be more research into catching this form of cancer early enough for higher standards of treatment and support.’
Sarcoma UK’s Director of Communications, Kerry Reeves-Kneip, said: ‘Sarcomas can be challenging to diagnose as their symptoms often mimic common benign conditions. Unfortunately, we frequently hear stories of delayed diagnoses where these rare cancers are initially mistaken for cysts, muscle strains or other harmless lumps. That’s why greater awareness among healthcare professionals is crucial – early and accurate diagnosis can dramatically improve outcomes for patients. Any growing lump, particularly one bigger than a golf ball, should be taken seriously and properly investigated.’
