A HEARTBROKEN mum has told how her three-year-old daughter died of cancer... after doctors repeatedly misdiagnosed her with constipation.

Aoife Flanagan-Gibbs passed away just five days after doctors eventually diagnosed her with rare germ cell cancer.

Chelmsford Weekly News:

Missed - little Aoife Flanagan-Gibbs

Her mum Eilish, 31, from Rayleigh, is still coming to terms with the death of her “wild but kind” little girl.

She recalled: “We had been going to the doctors and A&E for months and saw 11 medical professionals and was repeatedly told she just had common constipation.

“The doctors made me feel like a paranoid mum, but I knew something wasn’t right.

“I called NHS 111 and got an emergency appointment at Southend Hospital on June 30 and she had an x-ray which showed abnormalities.

“We were taken into a room at Southend Hospital and shown the x-ray and we could see the shadows on chest and back and we knew we were in a bad place.

“We were taken to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and got the final diagnosis.

“She died five days later, she had a cardiac arrest, it was a complete shock. Nobody expected it at all, she had just gone through her first round of chemotherapy and we were treating the cancer.

“As her mum I am so angry, as the cancer should not have been missed.”

Miss Flanagan paid tribute to her “beautifully kind little girl”.

She said: “I used to describe her as a little wild. She had an amazing head of ginger hair. She loved being outdoors, she was very kind, just a beautifully kind little girl. She would do anything for anyone.”

Eilish is now forming the UK’s only germ cell cancer charity in a bid to raise awareness.

She said: “We are setting up the charity called Aoife’s Bubbles, because she loved her Shetland Pony, Bubbles.

“We want bring change and push for doctors to do all the checks they can to stop this happening again.

“Aoife used to say she was a superhero and we want that to be her legacy as she will save lives when we make the change.

“I will make sure she didn’t die in vein and other families do not go through what we have.”

Denise Townsend, Director of Nursing at Southend University Hospital, said: “We are really sorry for the loss of Aoife Flanagan-Gibbs, who was a patient at Southend Hospital and our thoughts are with Aoife’s family.

“Following the death of any child we undertake a formal review process which all agencies are involved in. This review is on-going, so we are unable to comment any further at present.

“Should Miss Flannigan wish to contact us directly we will arrange a meeting with her.” The online funding page can be found at www.gofundme.com, searching for Aoife’s Bubbles Charity.