‘My daughter’s food intolerance was deadly kidney cancer’: Teacher who visited her GP complaining of stomach pain dies within a year after being told to ‘cut out bread’

September 25, 2016

Claire Tomlinson visited her GP in September last year with stomach pains
She was told to cut out some foods – but began to feel pain in her back too
But when she was finally diagnosed with kidney cancer it was too late
She lost her seven month battle to renal cell carcinoma just last week
Now her parents are calling for doctors to act more urgently to save others

Stephen Matthews For Mailonline

Published:
03:25 EST, 21 September 2016

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Updated:
05:25 EST, 21 September 2016

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A primary school teacher who was told her stomach pains were being caused by a food intolerance died less than a year later – from kidney cancer.

Claire Tomlinson, 35, from Southport, lost her seven month battle to renal cell carcinoma in her left kidney last Tuesday.

Her parents have spoken out after her GP advised her to cut out certain foods to ease her symptoms in September last year – but the cramps continued.

When she was finally diagnosed in February this year it was too late – the cancer had spread to her lungs and brain and chemotherapy was unsuccessful.

Now John, 66, and Gill, 62, are calling for doctors to ‘act more urgently’ to prevent other lives from being lost.

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Claire Tomlinson, 35, from Southport, lost her seven month battle to renal cell carcinoma in her left kidney last week

Now her parents John, 66, (pictured together on Miss Tomlinson’s graduation day) and Gill, 62, are calling for doctors to ‘act more urgently’ to prevent other lives from being lost

Retired farmer Mr Tomlinson said: ‘She went to her local GP in September last year and they thought it was a food allergy.

‘They suggested that she cut out bread and things like that and by Christmas she had back pain as well.

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‘We’re not trying to say she could have been cured, we just think that the treatment should have been more urgent.’

Her parents claim Miss Tomlinson, who worked in London, was advised to cut out certain foods by her doctor in September last year after complaining of stomach pains.

Her GP advised her to cut out certain foods after she complained of stomach pains in September last year – but they continued

But once she had been diagnosed in February this year it was too late – it had spread to her lungs and brain and chemotherapy was unsuccessful (pictured with her mother outside St Paul’s Cathedral)

But the pain only escalated and even spread to her back.

Miss Tomlinson had a private body scan in February which revealed the pain stemmed from a cancer in her left kidney, known as renal cell carcinoma.

She then began NHS treatment six weeks after the diagnosis and underwent chemotherapy.

But despite this, the disease spread to her lungs and brain and she found herself in ‘crippling’ pain after each meal.

Miss Tomlinson also required surgery for a collapsed lung towards the end of her fight to beat the disease.

But sadly her chemotherapy was not successful and she died last week after battling cancer for seven months.

Mr Tomlinson said: ‘My wife just had a gut feeling that there was something wrong.

‘She’s not medical, she’s just a good mother who knows her daughters inside out.

‘Once you’ve alerted a doctor that something is wrong it’s in their hands and you have to push and push to make sure that people act.

‘You can’t be frightened if there is something wrong, you have to do something about it because it’s not just going to go away.’

He added: ‘Claire said don’t think about any compensation just make people aware.

‘She was so natural, there was nothing false about her and she was very beautiful.’

The family aren’t having flowers at the funeral, instead they are asking for people to make a donation so a garden can be made for the children to use at her school.

A spokesman for the NHS England, speaking on behalf of Claire’s GP surgery, said: ‘Our condolences are with Claire’s family and friends at this sad time.

‘Unfortunately we cannot comment on the details of individual cases but we are always keen to understand any issues and concerns raised by patients’ family and friends.’

Mr Tomlinson said: ‘My wife just had a gut feeling that there was something wrong. She’s not medical, she’s just a good mother who knows her daughters inside out’

The family aren’t having flowers at the funeral, instead they are asking for people to make a donation so a garden can be made for the children to use at her school