This Morning guest breaks down in tears after daughter dies of cancer aged 17

Isla Sneddon first discovered a lump in her breast when she was 15 years old and was told it was likely benign due to her age.

During Wednesday’s instalment of This Morning, presenters Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard spoke to Mark and Michelle Sneddon about the heartbreaking death of their 17-year-old daughter, Isla.

ITV viewers learnt that Isla died last year after being diagnosed with breast cancer, as Cat explained: “Isla was just 15 when she found a lump in her breast, but because of her age, doctors dismissed the disease.

“By the time she was diagnosed, it was too late, and she died just over six months later, at the age of 17.”

Since their daughter’s death, Mark and Michelle are campaigning for better recognition of symptoms in young people.

Michelle explained that she had initially panicked when she first felt the lump her daughter discovered, as it was quite large, but downplayed it to Isla before calling the doctors.

Isla Sneddon died at the age of 17 after being diagnosed with cancer (Image: ITV)

When the teen was seen by the GP, Mark explained Isla was told she’d “grow out of it’’ as they believed it was the start of her cancer journey.

However, it wasn’t until a few years later that Isla got extremely ill and was taken to see a doctor. Mark added, “She’d been fighting it, because she was so young and healthy, she was fighting it. Her body was fighting the cancer.”

Receiving an X-ray, doctors learnt that her heart was full of fluid, which resulted in 500ml of fluid being removed from Isla, although it returned the next day, which resulted in her being taken to the hospital.

Mark and Michelle Sneddon appeared on This Morning to speak about their campaign for Isla’s Law (Image: ITV)
Isla was in the hospital for 10 weeks before being given her cancer diagnosis. Once she was transferred to the cancer hospital, Mark and Michelle were given the devastating news that Isla had six months to a year to live.

Speaking about her daughter, Michelle started to get overcome with emotion as she said: “It’s just awful, the most awful thing you can imagine-

Rushing to support her, Cat quickly offered Michelle a tissue, seeing how distressed she was.

Cat Deeley was quick to offer the guest support as she cried (Image: ITV)
Mark added, “We feel that if there had been earlier intervention in 2022, Isla would still be here. By the time she had got the diagnosis, it was too late; the cancer was everywhere.

“But, because of her age, we feel that a child presenting as the same symptoms as an adult should be treated the same.”

Now, the pair are campaigning for Isla’s Law to ensure other families don’t have to go through what they have.

Their Change.org petition has more than 39,000 signatures, and the family is set to meet with Scottish Health Secretary Neil Grey next month to address their concerns.