A teenage girl has died of bowel cancer months after being told by her bungling GP that the extreme pain she was in was nothing but constipation.

 

Megan Pryde passed away peacefully last Friday surrounded by her loved ones at her home in Little Corby, near Carlisle. The 19-year-old was diagnosed with a form of bowel cancer that is too aggressive to treat in February last year. But months before she was given the heartbreaking news, her doctor brushed off her symptoms and sent her away with a prescription for laxatives. Her heartbroken mother Bev, 45, said: 'We can't thank everyone enough for their kind messages over the last few days and for the support Megan received during her illness. 'Megan touched the hearts of many and that has been made very clear since her passing.

 

'The care Megan received was second-to-none and the support they have given our family has been very much appreciated.' She added: 'Megan fought very hard these last 16 months, but always had a big smile on her face throughout it all. Sleep tight my gorgeous baby.'

 

 

Determined not to let the diagnosis dictate who she was, Miss Pryde battled to keep on life as normal and even went on to pass her driving test.  The kind-hearted teenager used her remaining months to raise money for charities to raise awareness of bowel cancer.  Miss Pryde first went to her local doctor in October 2015 complaining of 'really bad' constipation and stomach pains. But her GP decided her symptoms weren't anything serious, and instead gave her laxatives to clear her problem.

In February 2016, she experienced horrific pains in her stomach, prompting her parents, who were out shopping, to rush home.

 

They whizzed her straight to A&E at the Cumberland Infirmary where she spent a large portion of her day. Doctors assumed she had appendicitis due to her symptoms, but later that evening they found a cyst on her ovary.  After five days of various medical scans and a colonoscopy, on February 15 she was eventually told she had a tumour.  At the time Miss Pryde said: 'Finding out I had cancer was a huge shock for me, my family and friends. The last year has, without doubt, been the worst year of my life,' The Mirror previously reported.  Miss Pryde's funeral will be held at Holy Trinity & St Constantine Church, in Wetheral, at 11am on Saturday.  

A spokesman for the family said as part of the celebrations, and to grant her wishes, anyone attending should 'dress to impress' - with no black.  They have requested that there are family flowers only, but any donations will be given to The Children's Cancer Fund and Teenage Cancer Trust.