Mum claims GP said daughter, 4, was 'faking it' before terrible diagnosis

A mum who claims her GP said her four year-old daughter was 'faking it' a week before she was diagnosed with blood cancer is urging parents to trust their instincts. Rebecca Herbert’s daughter Summer, now seven, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in April 2022 after she was found lying on her bedroom floor, unable to walk or use her legs.

Summer had been “constantly poorly” and bruising easily, but when Rebecca, 33, visited her GP, she claims the doctor said she was “faking it” and told her to “go home and dose her up on Calpol”.

Lawyers acting on behalf of the GP said they were sorry to hear Rebecca “felt her daughter’s symptoms were not treated seriously” and claimed they told her to take Summer for an X-ray that evening at the closest A&E department as she could not bear weight in her right leg.

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Rebecca, from Hampshire, said when she reached the nearest medical centre, she was told Summer was not booked in for an X-ray, so instead decided to take Summer to Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester, that same evening, where she had blood tests – and one week later, after being referred to Southampton General Hospital, it was confirmed Summer had leukaemia, aged four.

She said Summer had more than two years of chemotherapy, meaning she lost all her hair and missed school, swimming lessons and seeing friends – but after finishing her treatment in June, she had a party to celebrate and was treated like “a proper princess”.

Reflecting on Summer’s diagnosis, which she said was very nearly missed, Rebecca wants to urge other parents to trust their gut instincts. She told PA Real Life: “When I went to the doctors with her, they basically said that she was faking it. They literally said, from their mouth, ‘She’s faking it’. I said: ‘Why would she fake it? It’s half-term.’ I’d understand if it was my son and he didn’t want to go to school, but this wasn’t the case.

"They said, ‘No, no, just go home and dose her up on Calpol’ … I thought, ‘No, this isn’t right’.” She added: “Just always go for your mother instincts. You know when something’s wrong with your kids … and even if you’re not sure, go and get checked.”

Rebecca, a former care worker, described her daughter Summer as a “fireball” – she said she was full of energy and always smiling.

In early 2022, Rebecca noticed that Summer was bruising more than normal and she was “constantly poorly” – but assuming she just had “the normal common cold”, she “didn’t think anything of it”.

When she slipped on her skateboard and “smashed her head open”, requiring stitches, Rebecca said she then noticed the wound was not healing properly, which was “weird”.

But when Summer’s brother discovered her lying on the floor in April 2022 during the Easter holidays, unable to move, Rebecca knew it was “something serious”.

Rebecca said she had a temperature of 39.9C and she called her GP to book an emergency appointment, which she secured for later that afternoon.

Rebecca, who lives with her husband Martin, 36, an engineer, said she was trying not to “panic” – but when she saw her GP, she claims they said Summer was “faking” her symptoms and she should just “dose up” on Calpol.

According to Rebecca, the GP did also send her for an X-ray, but when they got to the minor injuries department that evening she was told Summer was not booked in so there was not one available.

With her gut telling her it was more serious, Rebecca said she drove to Royal Hampshire County Hospital that evening – and while waiting for further tests, she started looking up Summer’s symptoms. According to Cancer Research UK, symptoms of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) can include breathlessness, looking pale, picking up infections easily and bruising or bleeding easily – and with Summer having many of these, Rebecca feared the worst.

“I pre-warned myself and when I told my husband, he said, ‘No, no, it’s probably something else, she’s probably anaemic’,” Rebecca said. "But then a week later, after going to Southampton General Hospital, we found out that she had leukaemia.”

According to the charity Young Lives vs Cancer, which supports children and young people (0-25) with cancer and their families, one in every 450 children under 15 develops a cancer in the UK. Despite side effects of hair loss and fatigue, and missing school, parties and seeing her friends, Rebecca said Summer continued smiling and never complained during the following two years of treatment.

Her treatment finished in June this year, and the family held a large party to celebrate her reaching remission, with a “massive cake” and everyone wearing orange as leukaemia is represented by this colour.

Rebecca said the family is “back to normality” now, which feels “scary”, but Summer is regularly going for check-ups and blood tests to ensure the cancer does not return. She wants to encourage other parents to read up on childhood leukaemia, as many of Summer’s symptoms matched medical information provided online, and to get any unusual symptoms checked.

Speaking about Summer now, she said: “I am that mum that will say, ‘I’m proud of my children’. She’s always wanting to learn and she’s smashing life at the moment.”

A statement from Summer’s GP, shared through lawyers acting on their behalf, stated: “(The GP) were sorry to hear that (Rebecca) felt her daughter’s symptoms were not treated seriously and would like to reassure her that this is not the case. (The GP) was very concerned about (Rebecca’s) daughter, who presented with pain in her lower right leg, and who he recorded was unable to weight bear.

“(They) recorded that she needed an X-ray to exclude the possibility of a greenstick fracture and asked (Rebecca) to take her to the nearest A&E department for an X-ray that evening. (Rebecca) and her daughter in fact attended the local minor injuries unit, who recorded that they had been sent by their GP for an X-ray. (The GP) was also conscious that there might be a malignant cause for the leg pain and recorded a plan to consider the need for a paediatric review if the X-ray was normal and if (Rebecca’s) daughter was still unable to weight bear the next day.

“(The GP was) pleased to learn that the various NHS departments worked well together to diagnose and treat (Rebecca’s) daughter and wish her and her family well.”