A teenager who was dismissed by hospital staff with a diagnosis of ‘growing pains’ has now been confronted with harrowing news.
Chloe Renshaw, at the age of 15, began experiencing severe knee pain in October, prompting her father, Adam Renshaw, 43, to take her to a minor injuries unit.
At that facility in Plymouth, UK, Chloe was reportedly assured that her discomfort was merely a part of the common ‘growing’ process associated with adolescence.
Yet, when Chloe’s pain escalated, she and her father sought further medical help two weeks later as the discomfort extended to her legs.
According to Adam, they were once again told that her condition was nothing serious and that simple exercises would alleviate it.
However, Chloe’s agony intensified, leading her father to take her to the emergency room a week later, where he insisted on a CT scan.
This scan uncovered the devastating revelation that Chloe had a tumor on her spine.
Speaking to MailOnline, Adam expressed his frustration: “The fight to get children diagnosed is ridiculous, I’ve heard the same story from so many parents.”
“Towards the end of the week before I took her to A&E she was in absolute agony day and night.”
“The doctors reassured us it was just growing pains so we took their word for it.”
“I tried to get her to do the exercises they recommended, and to get her to school but she was in too much pain.”
Subsequent tests have revealed that Chloe is battling cancer in her pelvic bone, skull, breasts, and liver.
She has undergone one round of chemotherapy, but further treatment plans remain uncertain due to the cancer’s effect on her immune system.
Adam added, “The last oncologist gave me the impression they don’t think they can do a lot for her at all.”
“They say it is a very fast and aggressive cancer, so they don’t know if they are going to be able to solve it.”
A GoFundMe page has been established to support Chloe and her family during this difficult time, along with a Facebook community group for updates.
Adam shared, “I did a video when I found out the bad news and my hands were still shaking, I sent a video out and it took off.”
“Then me and Chloe sat down and talked about it and she wanted to do some videos to help other kids while she was doing chemotherapy.”
If these issues have affected you and you need someone to talk to in confidence, reach out to the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 or use their live chat feature, available 24/7 each day of the year.