Cancer Diagnosis (Young People) | First Minister’s Question Time | Scottish Parliament debates

I want to raise the tragic case of Isla Sneddon, who died at the age of 17 after a six-month battle with cancer. She first went to her general practitioner in 2022 with lumps in her breast. In June 2024, the GP made an urgent referral to the breast clinic for a biopsy, but it was downgraded to routine status. By the time that she was diagnosed, she had a sarcoma in the lining of her heart and the cancer had spread from her breast to her lungs and lymph nodes. If she had been an adult, the biopsy would have been urgent, but it was downgraded because she was under 18. Will the First Minister ensure that there is explicit guidance that suspicion of cancer in children and young people must be treated with the same urgency as cases in adults?

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