Teen's heartbreaking words to family after being given a year to live

When doctors told Megan Kelly she had a year to live it was her devastated mother who broke down in tears. The brave teenager had already spent months fighting cancer but now she was being told there was nothing more that could be done.

But the inspirational 19-year-old simply turned to her mum and told her: "I am ready." Tragically the teenager did not even get that year, passing away just weeks later after chemotherapy aimed at keeping the cancer at bay failed to work.

Since her death her mum, Jane, along with family and close friends have since set about raising awareness of the cancer which claimed her life but also money to fund research to stop other families having to go through what they have suffered.

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Jane told how Megan, from Gateshead, first became ill in September 2017. She was 16 and had just started sixth form. She said: " It began with a virus that lasted over three weeks, she could not shake it off.

"This was followed by virus after virus, along with constant urine infections. She missed so much school due to ill health that by Easter 2018, she was asked to leave."

Over a period of months the teenager was diagnosed with glandular fever, scarlet fever and urine infections. She started a part-time job but continued to feel unwell with no energy.

Jane said: "I was worried. My gut feeling was that something was seriously wrong. I had fought my own battle with Hodgkin lymphoma when I was 32.

"It had taken a year before I was correctly diagnosed, and I recognised much of my own experiences in what Megan was going through. But the rational side of me wanted to believe the doctors each time we were told she just had a virus. It was much harder to think that my teenage daughter could have cancer, and it was certainly not something I wanted to hear."

By 2019 Jane says she was exhausted from battling with different doctors. She said: "Megan was poorly yet again, this time with hypothermia.

"I remember saying to the doctor at the walk-in clinic that something needed to be done, that I feared there was something seriously wrong. But she just rolled her eyes and told me that parents could sometimes be neurotic when it came to their children."

It was after a holiday in June 2019 where Megan spent the whole time sleeping indoors that the family learned the devastating diagnosis. Megan, now 18, went to the GP by herself where she was examined then told to call her mum to come to the surgery immediately.

Jane said: "She would not tell Megan what was wrong. When I went back with Megan, the doctor explained that she could feel a mass on Megan’s kidney and that she suspected cancer."

Over the following six weeks Megan underwent a series of tests before finally being diagnosed with stage 4 soft cell Ewing sarcoma which had probably been there for two years. Jane said: "The cancer had already spread to her lungs and lymph nodes. She was told she would never be able to have children and that she only had a 30 per cent chance of surviving more than five years.

"Her diagnosis was not a complete shock to me. Through the power of , I already suspected it. The worst thing for me was knowing that she would have to go through chemo. Having been through it myself years before, I knew how brutal it could be."

Jane added: "Megan was feisty, strong, resilient and solution-focused. She listened to her diagnosis, had a cry, then stopped and said: ‘So what are we going to do about it?’. Of course, there were dark days, but by and large, she was very positive. She never felt sorry for herself."

The mother and daughter were very close and talked "about everything" but it could be tough at times. Jane said: "The hardest conversations were the ones around her not ever being a mum.

"She was great with kids and I often believe that had she survived, she would have fostered. She decided to have an ovary removed and stored in the hope that, at a later date, it might be possible for her to have her own children."

Megan had chemo on and off for nine months but as the disease was stage 4 it was the "most brutal" treatment with a maximum of five days at home between sessions. Jane said: "Nevertheless, she got up and she did it. She put everything into it."

The family crossed off each treatment on a big calendar as it was completed then just before , they were told that the secondary cancer in her lungs had gone. In February 2020, Megan had surgery to remove her left kidney and the tumour that was on it.

But following the operation Megan began to become very weak. Barely able to eat and quickly losing a lot of weight, she needed a feeding tube and could no longer walk so needed a wheelchair.

Jane said: "It was an extremely frightening time for all of us. In my heart, I think I knew at this point that Megan was not going to make it, but my husband still had a lot of hope.

"In June, she went for a scan and we were told that she was in remission. We had always been told that she only really had one chance at treatment, and that if the cancer returned, there was nothing else that could be done.

"For the next couple of months, Megan was very hopeful. Despite the isolation we all faced due to Covid, she was happy. She was still incredibly thin, but her hair started to grow back and she was able to walk again."

Tragically in August, Megan started being sick and her routine scan was brought forward. Jane told how they were then given the news they hoped never to hear.

She said: "The consultant called us in straight away and I immediately knew that she suspected a relapse. It was the worst news: Megan’s cancer was back and there was nothing else they could do for her. We were told she had a year to live.

"Incredibly, Megan did not even break a sweat. Despite promising myself that I would never cry in front of her, I broke down. But she just turned to me and said: ‘You know what, mum, I’m fine. I’ve been thinking about this moment a lot and I am at peace with it. I am ready’. Her maturity was remarkable."

The teenager was put on a low dose of chemo to keep the cancer at bay, but after a couple of weeks, she became more unwell. Jane said: "The doctor took me aside and told me it was not working and that Megan only had a few days left.

"We made the decision not to tell Megan this news. We took her home. It had always been her wish to die at home. Megan passed away on 9 December 2020. She was 19."

Megan had always been incredibly kind and generous, and in her short life had raised thousands of pounds for charity. During the few months that she was in remission, she talked about doing a skydive to raise funds to help other young people dealing with cancer.

She also wanted to organise a rave in the summer of 2021. These events both went ahead, despite Megan not being here – and raised £26,000.

Megan wanted to raise awareness around childhood cancer in a bid to improve diagnosis rates. She also wanted to be able to provide welfare to children with cancer and their families in the form of small grants, for example for days out or to help those struggling with their bills.

To honour her, her family and friends set up . Its first event was an auction, which raised around £6,000 and since then these have grown raising money to support young cancer patients between the ages of 11 and 25.

Jane explained children's cancers are "woefully underfunded" which also led them to supporting research into this area through The - one recent donation was for £22,000 to help .

She said: "It is clear that when money is invested in cancer research, cures and treatments can be found that will allow better outcomes for patients. I say this knowing that I was able to have successful treatment for my own cancer, thanks to previous investment into Hodgkin lymphoma research.

"Research into childhood cancer is underfunded compared to adults, because relatively few children are diagnosed with cancer compared to the adult population. We need to develop kinder, better treatments for children with cancer to be able to save more lives.

"My daughter had an incredible life ahead of her. She was articulate, beautiful, kind and funny – and I often wonder where she would be right now. I can only hope that she would be incredibly proud of what we are doing in her name."

To make a donation to The Institute of Cancer Research .