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'GP said my daughter was faking - but she had cancer'

Family Handout/PA Real Life Summer and her mum Rebecca are sitting next to each other on wicker garden chairs. They're outside in the garden, Summer wears a black long sleeved t shirt with a white knitted sleeveless tank over the top, she has mousy blonde hair and smiles at the camera. Rebecca has black hair tied in a low side ponytail and has a stud in her upper lip. She wears a white short sleeved cotton t shirt and black leggings, with a black cross body leather bag.Family Handout/PA Real Life
Summer, pictured with mum Rebecca, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia when she was four years old

A mother has claimed a GP said her sick daughter was "faking it" a week before being diagnosed with blood cancer.

Rebecca's daughter Summer, now seven, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in April 2022 after being found lying on the floor unable to walk.

Rebecca, from Hampshire, is now urging other parents to "trust their instincts" after watching her little girl spend two years fighting the disease.

Lawyers acting on behalf of the GP said the doctor had told Rebecca to take Summer to the nearest A&E that evening and were sorry she "felt her daughter's symptoms were not treated seriously".

Rebecca, 33, noticed Summer was bruising more than normal and "constantly poorly" at the start of that year - but had put it down to a cold.

Family Handout/PA Real Life Summer is looking directly at the camera, smiling, making the peace symbol with her fingers. She wears a blue and white striped hospital gown and stands in front of a green wall background in a hospital.Family Handout/PA Real Life
Summer spent more than two years receiving chemotherapy after her diagnosis in 2022

“We went to a museum and she looked very pale, but I just thought, because she’s had a long day, she’s just tired,” Rebecca said.

“But then the next day, she was upstairs in her bedroom – I just went down for a coffee – and her brother was screaming ‘Summer can’t get up from the floor’.

“So I went upstairs and she was just lying there and I thought ‘something’s wrong’.”

Rebecca said Summer had a temperature of 39.9C and she called the GP to book an emergency appointment, which she secured for that afternoon.

She claimed that during this appointment, the doctor had said Summer was “faking it” and told her to “go home and dose her up on Calpol”.

Family Handout/PA Real Life Summer is smiling, she has lost all her hair, she's sat on a mustard yellow velvet chair and wears a grey cotton short sleeve t shirtFamily Handout/PA Real Life
Summer lost all her hair, but her mother said she had "bossed it" and was now in remission

Rebecca said: “They literally said, from their mouth, ‘She’s faking it’. I said: ‘Why would she fake it? It’s [school holidays]'.

“They said ‘No, no, just go home and dose her up on Calpol'. I thought ‘No, this isn’t right’.”

She said the GP had told her an X-ray had been booked for Summer.

But she said when she had reached the nearest medical centre, she was told Summer was not booked in.

Rebecca said she instead decided to take Summer to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester, where she had blood tests that same evening.

One week later - after being referred to Southampton General Hospital - it was confirmed Summer had leukaemia.

Family Handout/PA Real Life Rebecca takes a selfie with Summer, they are sitting on towels on the beach, both looking at the camera. Summer is further away from the camera, she's sitting on an orange towel, wears a pale pink swimming costume and is smiling at the camera, she has dark blonde hair tied up with a fringe. Rebecca is closer to the camera, she is on a blue patterned towel and wears a strapped black swimsuit and large aviator style framed sunglasses, she has black hair which is tied back and a side fringe.Family Handout/PA Real Life
Rebecca claims the GP told her to take Summer home and give her Calpol after she scheduled an emergency appointment

She spent the next two years in and out of hospital for chemotherapy, losing her hair and missing out on school, swimming lessons, going to the park, birthday parties and seeing friends.

Rebecca, a former care worker, described Summer as a “fireball” who was full of energy and always smiling.

“When I tell you this child bossed it, from start to finish, I’m not kidding," she said.

Rebecca said the family was “back to normality” now and Summer was having regular check-ups and blood tests after finishing her treatment in June and reaching remission.

She now wants to encourage other parents to read up on childhood leukaemia and to get unusual symptoms checked.

'Wish her family well'

A statement from Summer’s GP, shared through lawyers acting on their behalf, stated: “[The GP] were sorry to hear that [Rebecca] felt her daughter’s symptoms were not treated seriously and would like to reassure her that this is not the case.

“[The GP] was very concerned about [Rebecca’s] daughter, who presented with pain in her lower right leg, and who he recorded was unable to weight bear.

“[They] recorded that she needed an X-ray to exclude the possibility of a greenstick fracture and asked [Rebecca] to take her to the nearest A&E department for an X-ray that evening.

“[Rebecca] and her daughter in fact attended the local minor injuries unit, who recorded that they had been sent by their GP for an X-ray.

“[The GP] was also conscious that there might be a malignant cause for the leg pain and recorded a plan to consider the need for a paediatric review if the X-ray was normal and if [Rebecca’s] daughter was still unable to weight bear the next day.

“[The GP was] pleased to learn that the various NHS departments worked well together to diagnose and treat [Rebecca’s] daughter and wish her and her family well.”

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