Mother of inspirational Stephen Sutton: Warning signs of son's cancer 'ignored'

The Express & Star revealed in May how the Staffordshire teenager was initially sent home by doctors who did not spot he had bowel cancer for six months.

Before his death earlier this year, 19-year-old Stephen said he believed his prognosis would have been more positive had it been spotted earlier.

Now his mother Jane has said doctors 'completely ignored' the possibility that the student from Burntwood might have the disease.

This was despite him having three key symptoms and a family history on his father Andrew's side of Lynch Syndrome, a genetic condition that increases the risk of bowel cancer.

Speaking at a Teenage Cancer Trust round table discussion event, she backed calls from the charity to improve early diagnosis of child cancers so survival chances can be boosted.

By the time of his death in May, Stephen had raised more than £4 million for the charity, inspiring people to donate after publishing his bucket list on social media.

His mother praised the NHS care her son received when it came but said opportunities were missed.

"Stephen wasn't a child who went to the doctors. He had never been in a hospital setting.

"He had gone from being a healthy, sporty young lad to having three of the signs of cancer, plus a family history, and all of that was ignored. It is not good enough, really."

She added: "When you present time and time again, you think something as simple as doing a CT scan or some type of scan would be appropriate. That just wasn't happening."

Stephen was finally given an emergency CT scan when his health had deteriorated so much that he couldn't keep down fluids or food, and was unable to sleep because of the pain.

The scan revealed a blockage in his bowel. He underwent surgery, and was told he had cancer – at the age of just 15. Following a four-year battle against the disease he died.

Before his death he said: "On the whole, the NHS has been brilliant, but there will always be a kind of... well, probably just anger.

"If it had been caught earlier it could have led to a better prognosis. It could have changed the situation. But even saying that, I'm not one to dwell on the past. It is what it is."

Stephen was awarded an MBE for his fund-raising efforts and instructed the Teenage Cancer Trust to 'keep doing what they do' but the organisation said his efforts have allowed it to be 'more ambitious'.

Stephen won the hearts of thousands of supporters - including Prime Minister David Cameron and comedian Jason Manford - and made his trademark 'thumbs up' sign a symbol of his positive attitude.