'Doctors told me I was too young for breast cancer screenings but now I'm dying'

A mum has been told she's dying of breast cancer - after being refused a test for years due to being 'too young' then finding a lump. Chantelle Van Der Watt started requesting screenings when she moved from South Africa to the UK in 2020 after previously having annual mammograms due to her family history of cancer. As she was 34 at the time, she wasn't eligible for the NHS breast screening programme that only invites women from the age of 50. Chantelle pleaded her case with doctors and a breast clinic at Milton Keynes University Hospital who eventually said they could start screenings at the age of 40. But before she could hit that milestone the mum-of-two began feeling unwell and discovered a lump in her right breast at the age of 39. The mum claims doctors even told her 'you're still young, you won't get it' when she found the pea-sized lump in January 2025, despite both her grandmothers dying of breast cancer. In February 2025 Chantelle was diagnosed with breast cancer and in April 2025 was devastated to be told it had spread to her bones and gave her just five years to live. The stay-at-home mum has now set up a fundraiser to help put down a deposit on a house so her family can leave rental properties and have a place to 'call home' in future. Chantelle, from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, said: "I turned 39 and two months later I was diagnosed with breast cancer. "It's been horrific. I think of my kids, will I ever get to see them get married? They give you a time frame and you think 'will I get to see them go to prom?', it's all these little things. "That's why I made the GoFundMe page. We've been in the UK six years and this is house number six and I can't keep moving, I just want somewhere my family can call home." After years of requesting scans, Chantelle learned she had breast cancer after a lump appeared in her breast. She later started to experience pins and needles in her left arm, which she initially thought was from the mammogram, but in April 2025 Chantelle learned the cancer had spread and was incurable. Now on medication to try and keep the cancer at bay, Chantelle has set up a fundraiser to help support her family. You can donate to Chantelle's fundraiser here: Donate to A Home of Hope for the van der Watt Family, organized by Chantelle van der Watt Chantelle said: "When I lived in South Africa, I would go every year for a mammogram even though I was so young. When we came to the UK they only do screening from the age of 50, which I thought was a little bit ridiculous. "Both my grandmas had breast cancer, my grandfather had liver cancer, my other grandfather had prostate cancer [and died]. [In January 2025] I was getting tired, drained, my body was sore, you think maybe you've come down with flu. "A week before my face-to-face appointment with my GP I found a lump in my breast near to the nipple. They did a biopsy on it [and] a mammogram. "They [hospital doctors] kept telling me 'you're still young, you won't get it now'. When I went back they said it was cancer. I get cross because maybe if they did one screening at the age of 38 maybe we could've picked it up." A spokesperson for Milton Keynes University Hospital said: "We are very sorry that Chantelle is facing a cancer diagnosis at such a young age, and our thoughts are with her and her family. We remain fully committed to providing Chantelle with the highest standards of care and support throughout her cancer journey. "The eligibility criteria for breast cancer screening programmes, including the age at which screening is offered, are set nationally and are not determined by the Trust. When patients are referred to us because of clinical concerns, they are assessed and investigated through specialist breast services. "In Chantelle's case, once concerns were raised and appropriate referrals made, investigations were undertaken and a diagnosis reached promptly." The Department of Health and Social Care were contacted for comment. However, the NHS invites all women to have their first breast screening between the ages of 50 and 53. Then women will be invited every three years until the age of 71. They claim this is because most breast cancers develop in women over the age of 50.