Boy, 13, dies weeks before birthday after 'hay fever' symptoms were cancer

A 13-year-old boy died from an aggressive cancer after his mum initially mistook his symptoms for hay fever and end-of-term tiredness.

Jake Swinscoe was diagnosed with stage 3 fusion-positive alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in July 2023 and died just two weeks before his 14th birthday.

Before doctors discovered the rare soft-tissue cancer, Jake had suffered from a stuffy nose, watery eyes and tiredness. His mum Lynsey Swinscoe had been giving him antihistamines before school, believing seasonal allergies were to blame. The family only realised something more serious could be wrong after noticing swelling across the bridge of his nose.

Jake later underwent nine rounds of chemotherapy and 28 sessions of proton beam radiotherapy in London. But after the cancer spread and further treatment left him seriously unwell, he made the decision to stop chemotherapy.

Jake died peacefully at home on April 26, 2024. Before his death, he made one poignant request to his mum, telling her: “I want to be well-known and not forgotten.”

Lynsey, 43, is now honouring that wish through charity work and by training to become a radiotherapist after being inspired by the care her son received. Looking back at the first signs that something was wrong, she said: “We thought the symptoms were nothing more than hay fever at first.

“Jake was tired, had a stuffy nose and watery eyes, and I was giving him antihistamines before school each morning, which seemed to work. So we didn’t think anything was seriously wrong. He was also tired but we thought it was the hot weather and end of term tiredness.

“Then we noticed a swelling across the bridge of his nose between his eyes. But even then he played sport and we thought he may have been hit with something. Our GP sent him to Salisbury District Hospital for an X-ray and they had found a mass in his nasal cavity.

He was later referred to Southampton's children hospital to undertake further test, where the family were told it was likely to be rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of soft tissue cancer.

She added: “Up until then, Jake hadn’t looked particularly unwell, so I don’t think I’d fully grasped how serious it was.”

Jake underwent nine rounds of chemotherapy between August and March, as well as 28 sessions of proton beam radiotherapy in London.

After his final chemotherapy treatment, an MRI scan revealed the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes.

Lynsey added: “Further chemotherapy was offered to help manage his symptoms and prolong his life, but shortly after starting treatment he suffered severe seizures. His first seizure nearly killed him and he spent time in intensive care.

“After that he told us he didn’t want any more chemotherapy because it made him feel so ill.