Justin Trudeau Resigns as Canadian Prime Minister: A Political Earthquake

Sophie Jones, 19 dies from cervical cancer after doctors refused to give her a smear test because she was too young  

An aspiring model who was turned down for a smear test because doctors said she was too young to get cervical cancer has died from the disease.

Sophie Jones, 19, from Eastham, near Liverpool, was initially told she had Crohn's Disease when she went to the doctor complaining of stomach pains.

But she was diagnosed with cervical cancer last November after being admitted to hospital when her condition worsened, and died early on Saturday morning.

'The life and soul of everything': Sophie Jones, 19, has died of cervical cancer after being refused a smear test

Last Facebook picture: Miss Jones, who posted this photo two weeks ago, died early on Saturday morning

Miss Jones was described by her sister, Stephanie, as 'a very calming influence on everyone around her'

While the disease is the most common cancer in women under 35, it is so rare in those under 25 that screening for it is not offered to women until they are 25.

Today Miss Jones' sister, Stephanie Jones, said she had vowed to fight the disease 'to the end'.

She said: 'She was still in high spirits even on the morning she died; she was the life and soul of everything, and just lit the place up.

'She was always a very calming influence on everyone around her, and she loved being with her friends.'

She added: 'This should never, ever have happened to her.  Sophie said she would fight it all the way to the end.

'It’s totally wrong that people are getting refused even when they know something isn’t right. Everybody knows their own body, and Sophie knew she wasn’t well.'

Killer disease: Miss Jones, from Eastham, was admitted to hospital in November after her condition worsened

Model: The teenager had suffered from stomach pains and was initially told she probably had Crohn's Disease

Miss Jones, pictured with her boyfriend Jake Molyneux, was 'in high spirits' the day she died, her sister said

The family had been fundraising to take Miss Jones on a final holiday, but she died before she had the chance to go.

Now her family and friends have launched an online petition demanding that the minimum age for having a smear test be lowered to 16.

Family friend Pamela Keelan, who set up the petition on the day Sophie died, said she hoped to prevent other girls suffering the same fate.

The petition reads: 'A friend and amazing young girl, our Sophie has had her life cut short after experiencing symptoms for over a year and being in horrendous pain and even asking for a smear.

'But because of her age - 19 -  she was refused time and time again and now she has terminal cervical cancer.

Source : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2582507/Teenage-model-dies-cervical-cancer-doctors-refused-smear-test-young.html