A devastated family have paid tribute to an "amazing" and "creative" daughter who tragically died after her cancer returned.
Sarah Cowell, of Prudhoe, was diagnosed with acute lymphomatic leukaemia weeks before her 14th birthday in 2014 but was given the all clear in February 2017. She had been in remission for five years but was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in June 2022.
The former Thorp Academy pupil had just graduated from a Creative Advertising degree at the Northern School of Art in Hartlepool and was set to do her Masters when she received her second diagnosis. A talented crafter, drawer, and painter, she could "turn her hand to anything", her sister Amy Bilclough, a district nurse, said.
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Sarah's mum Anita Cowell, also a district nurse, said: "She was very quiet as a person and quite a private person. She was very creative, she enjoyed making things and putting her stamp on everything and loved crafts.
"She used to paint, she did canvas painting, she did a bit of embroidery, and a bit of pottery painting."
Parents Anita and Keith were devastated that Sarah had a second leukaemia diagnosis at such a young age and were looking forward to her taking the next step in her education.
Anita continued: "She was making plans to do her masters degree and what her future would be, but then she found out she had Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. After five years of treatment, you're classed as no great risk than anybody else, it was 1,000 to one that she would get it again."
Sarah received treatment for the disease at the Freeman Hospital in Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, including FLAG-ida chemotherapy and an allogeneic stem cell transplant. She was admitted on December 9 for conditioning ahead of a bone marrow transplant, and was crafting right until the day before her transplant on December 21.
This course of treatment was chosen as chemotherapy alone had an estimated relapse rate of 80-90%, while having a stem cell transplant reduced the risk of relapse to 20-30%. Because Sarah was a fit and healthy young woman, her transplant mortality rate was estimated at 10-20%.
However, in the days after the transplant was completed, she started to complain of swelling in her legs and later, facial swelling. This had come from developing an antibiotic-resistant infection and though her medication was changed several times, her condition continued to deteriorate until continuing with treatment was considered to be no longer in her best interests and withdrawn.
The inquest at Newcastle Coroners' Court on Thursday ruled that Sarah had died on December 30, 2022 of a known complication of a necessary treatment for a natural disease. Coroner Kirsten Mercer expressed her condolences and said: "It is clear to me she was a very much-loved part of her family."
Paying tribute to her sister during the hearing, Amy told the court: "She was my sister and she was creative and really talented, just an amazing person who didn’t deserve all of this to happen to her."
Sarah's family say that it has been "really, really hard" since her death, but that the inquest has brought them some closure. They are continuing to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust, which helped Sarah during her teens and even introduced her to popstar Olly Murs when he paid a visit to the Children's Cancer Unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary.
On June 17, Sarah's brother-in-law Michael Bilclough and his friend Josh Banks will do a 15,000ft skydive in her memory. It has already raised £1,860, almost double the £1,000 target.
All proceeds go to the Teenage Cancer Trust. For more information or to donate, click here.
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