The family of a young woman with incurable breast cancer say they wished they'd been 'more pushy' amid claims her concerns were dismissed.
Chelsey Halpin, 32, was first diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in 2019 after finding a lump on her right side.
She was treated for the aggressive form of the disease with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and underwent a mastectomy.
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Chelsey, who lives in Gorton, was given the all-clear in 2020 and was due to receive regular check ups at the Christie Hospital to make sure the cancer had not returned.
But her family claim these appointments did not happen as frequently as they should, due to a mix up with her files.
In the spring of 2021, Chelsey began to experience an intense pain in her right side, and mentioned this to a consultant during a routine appointment.
Her cousin, Naomi Halpin, claims her pain was 'dismissed' by the consultant, and she was instead treated for suspected nerve pain with no follow-up appointment scheduled.
As the weeks went on, Chelsey's pain became so bad that she admitted herself to Manchester Royal Infirmary.
She was eventually booked in for scans, and at the beginning of February, she was told her breast cancer had returned - but this time it was incurable.
Tragically, the cancer has now spread to Chelsey's neck and doctors have told they are will not be able to operate.
Speaking to the M.E.N, Naomi Halpin claims her cousin had been "pretty much left without support" after her first diagnosis in 2019.
"Chelsey's allocated Chrisitie's consultant left the role during the time of her care and she was not informed of this," she said.
Naomi claims: "When we called to follow up to see why there had not been any checks ups post treatment we were informed there was no record of her or the record was lost.
"Chelsey was also assessed as being anaemic but she did not receive adequate care or medication for this.
"She was meant to have regular b12 injections, however she only had one as on several occasions she was told that no nurse was available at her GP."
Chelsey had an appointment with a consultant at the Christie in April 2021 where she mentioned the pain she had been experiencing.
"That consultant dismissed her and said the pain was to do with nerve endings and he would give her pain relief," Naomi said.
"My cousin didn’t want to seem like she was being a pest so she didn’t say anything."
Naomi claims: "She was never given any pain relief and no follow-up appointment or scans were booked.
"Over the six months leading to Christmas the pain got worse and we had to become a bit more pushy with it."
Naomi says Chelsey tried to get in touch with her GP but was unable to get an appointment so instead presented at Manchester Royal Infirmary's A&E department.
"She started to develop these lumps on the side of her chest where the pain was," Naomi said.
"She had an initial appointment at the Christie before Christmas and on the back of that she was booked in for scans.
"We found out on February 4 that the cancer was back and that it is incurable. It has spread from the chest to the neck.
"They have said it is very aggressive. They think it may spread to her bones and spine too.
"The doctor has said it is hard to tell life expectancy at this stage. I like to think with her being young with the chemotherapy her life could be prolonged."
Chelsey's family say they wish they'd been more pushy when she first presented with pain.
"I feel sort of guilty that we were not more pushy with the doctors," Naomi said.
"If she had just got a scan a bit earlier you just thought maybe it would not have spread.
"But it’s not even that it is more about the pain that she had to deal with.
"I do worry that people could really slip through the cracks if they are not confident on the phone or to get on the bus to MRI.
"That is the scary to think that people might not get treatment if they aren’t pushy."
Chelsey's family have since set up a gofundme page to raise awareness of breast cancer, and to raise funds to take her on her dream trip to America.
"She wants to go to America and we are raising money for that because we want to make sure she can do that whilst she is still well enough.
"I am trying to keep things as normal as possible for her. We just want her to enjoy the time that she has.
"She is probably looking at it in a more bleak way because she wants to prepare herself for the worst. She also has to gear herself up for chemotherapy again which is really gruelling.
"But she is trying to put on a brave face."
A spokesperson for The Christie NHS Foundation Trust said: "We do not comment on individual patient treatments but if a patient does have concerns about their treatment we would urge them to contact us to discuss it directly."
You can donate to Chelsey's gofundme page here.
