- .Sophie Jones, 19, from Eastham, near Liverpool, had had stomach pains
- .She was refused a cervical smear test by doctors as she was under 25
- .Doctors initially blamed it on Crohn's Disease but her condition worsened
- .She was admitted to hospital on November and vowed to fight 'to the end'
- .Sophie died of cervical cancer on Saturday after doctors said it had spread
- .Cervical screening only offered to women over 25 as so rare in the young
- .Now her family and friends have launched online petition to change this
An aspiring model who was turned down for a smear test because doctors said she was too young to get cervical cancer has died from the disease.
Sophie Jones, 19, from Eastham, near Liverpool, was initially told she had Crohns Disease when she went to the doctor complaining of stomach pains.
But she was diagnosed with cervical cancer last November after being admitted to hospital when her condition worsened, and died early on Saturday morning.
'The life and soul of everything': Sophie Jones, 19, has died of cervical cancer after being refused a smear test
Last Facebook picture: Miss Jones, who posted this photo two weeks ago, died early on Saturday morning
Miss Jones was described by her sister, Stephanie, as 'a very calming influence on everyone around her'
While the disease is the most common cancer in women under 35, it is so rare in those under 25 that screening for it is not offered to women until they are 25.
Today Miss Jones' sister, Stephanie Jones, said she had vowed to fight the disease 'to the end'.
She said: 'She was still in high spirits even on the morning she died; she was the life and soul of everything, and just lit the place up.
'She was always a very calming influence on everyone around her, and she loved being with her friends.'
She added: 'This should never, ever have happened to her. Sophie said she would fight it all the way to the end.
'It’s totally wrong that people are getting refused even when they know something isn’t right. Everybody knows their own body, and Sophie knew she wasn’t well.'
Killer disease: Miss Jones, from Eastham, was admitted to hospital in November after her condition worsened
Model: The teenager had suffered from stomach pains and was initially told she probably had Crohn's Disease
Miss Jones, pictured with her boyfriend Jake Molyneux, was 'in high spirits' the day she died, her sister said
The family had been fundraising to take Miss Jones on a final holiday, but she died before she had the chance to go.
Now her family and friends have launched an online petition demanding that the minimum age for having a smear test be lowered to 16.
The lower age limit for routine testing in England is 25 because the condition is so rare. No girls under the age of 20 died from the disease between 2009 and 2011, according to Cancer Research UK’s most recent statistics.
Dr Claire Knight, health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: 'It is very rare for women who are still in their teens to be diagnosed with cervical cancer; there have been around 25 in the last decade.
'But it’s important to go to your GP if you notice anything unusual, like pain or discomfort during sex, bleeding in between periods, after sex or after the menopause, or unpleasant vaginal discharge. It may well be caused by something much less serious than cancer, but it’s a good idea to get it checked.'
The Sophie’s Choice online petition has already collected more than 39,000 signatures since it was started on Saturday.
Miss Jones' family say her death should never have happened and want younger girls to have cervical screening
Miss Jones' family and friends are now calling for younger women to be offered cervical cancer screening
Family friend Pamela Keelan, who set up the petition on the day Sophie died, said she hoped to prevent other girls suffering the same fate.
The petition reads: 'A friend and amazing young girl, our Sophie has had her life cut short after experiencing symptoms for over a year and being in horrendous pain and even asking for a smear.
'But because of her age - 19 - she was refused time and time again and now she has terminal cervical cancer.
'Out of loads of doctors, it took that one to say "We will check you properly", but then it was too late.
'Our Sophie has been failed in the worst way, and I need 500,000 signatures to be heard, one million to get this changed hopefully.'
To view the petition and add your support for the campaign, go to: submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/62385
CERVICAL SCREENING PROGRAMME - WHAT IS IS AND WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
Screening: The test is currently offered to women aged 25 or over
The NHS offers a free cervical screening test to all women aged 25-64 every three to five years.
It is not a test for cervical cancer, but it identifies early abnormalities which, if left untreated, could develop into cancer of the cervix (neck of the womb).
A sample of cells is taken from the cervix for analysis and sent to a laboratory for analysis. Those whose cells show abnormalities are called back for further investigation and, if necessary, treatment.
Currently the test is not offered routinely to women aged younger than 25 because cervical cancer is so rare in women that young. According to Cancer Research UK statistics, not a single woman under the age of 20 died from cervical cancer between 2009-2011.
The lower age of 25 was raised from 20 after the Advisory Committee on Cervical Cancer Screening (ACCS) advised the NHS in 2003 that cervical screening in younger women did more harm than good.
The committee advised that cell abnormalities in younger women normally went away of their own accord, and said that sending young women for further tests and treatment increased the likelihood of the woman having pre-term delivery if she went on to have children, and could cause significant anxiety.
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