Teen's death inspires mum's drive for earlier rare cancer diagnosis

ByShannen Headley

West Midlands

Liberty York was 19 when she died from a rare form of cancer, two days after her birthday.

A year after her death, her mother Hannah York has talked about her strength and the parts of her daughter that existed outside of her illness.

"The first thing that comes to mind when I think about Liberty is how kind she was and thoughtful," she said.

To Hannah, she was still the same determined teenager throughout the final year of her life, before she died from an angiosarcoma, a rare form of soft tissue sarcoma, a type of cancer which starts in areas of the body such as muscle and fat.

The first signs appeared in May 2024 when Liberty, from Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, began feeling unusually tired and nauseous.

A year earlier she had been diagnosed with Addison's disease, a rare autoimmune condition, so at first the family thought it was possible the two could be linked.

Liberty was referred to see a specialist but while the family waited for answers, she developed swelling and pain in her left breast.

"We went to see the GP about the swelling and she thought it was mastitis because it was red as well and painful.," Hannah said.

"The [cancer's] main symptom is the swelling or change in skin. Liberty's swelling kept getting bigger and bigger."

Antibiotics were prescribed but they failed to work and doctors initially thought she had an abscess.

Later, Hannah said, attention turned towards the possibility that hormones could be responsible.

"Liberty was on a teenage cancer ward and they said it was very common," she said.

"So many teenagers, it's put down to hormones and unfortunately they said they see it every day."

The swelling that had begun as a small area of concern just weeks earlier had become a tumour weighing 10lb (4.5kg) by the time surgery took place.

For Hannah, that moment brought relief that they finally had an answer, but also the harsh reality of what her daughter was facing.

"Liberty's type of sarcoma was a particularly aggressive sarcoma and, after she was operated on, it had spread to her lungs in just six weeks," she remembered.

"The difference between days and weeks to diagnosis is so important with sarcoma. She didn't get a fighting chance."

Liberty died in the early hours of 1 June 2025, two days after celebrating her 19th birthday.

In the months since, Hannah said she had tried to channel her grief into raising awareness of the disease that took her daughter.

She is supporting the Child Cancer Smart campaign, led by CCLG: The Children & Young People's Cancer Association, as it launches new guidelines for healthcare professionals, aimed at improving recognition of soft tissue sarcomas in children and young people.

These cancers account for about 7% of childhood cancers, according to the charity, but experts say diagnosis can often be delayed because symptoms resemble more common conditions.

"Liberty was an incredibly strong person with a very strong sense of right and wrong. She was very opinionated, which I loved about her," Hannah said.

"I don't know if any earlier diagnosis could have saved her, but she'd have had more of a chance.

"Her cancer was rare, underfunded and under-researched, so the best chance of helping other people is by making sure they are diagnosed early."