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Rare cancer killed schoolgirl destined for stage stardom
‘She was a girl with so much charm and promise,’ says devastated father
A SCHOOLGIRL admitted to Whittington Hospital in Archway with a suspected respiratory illness died a week later from an undiagnosed kidney tumour, an inquest has heard.
Saffron Paris Bailey, 12, had been ill on and off for some time. A promising singer and actress, she had just been accepted by Sylvia Young Theatre School, in Marylebone.
A St Pancras inquest heard on Tuesday that her GP and a Harley Street specialist had been treating Saffron, from York Way, King’s Cross, with antibiotics. She had pneumonia symptoms – tiredness, a cough and lack of appetite.
In fact, Saffron, who attended Highgate Primary School, was suffering from a rare cancer of the kidneys.
The day before entering hospital in March she had slept all day and had no energy when she got up in the evening. The following afternoon she fainted and was later admitted to Whittington Hospital with flu-like symptoms and breathing difficulties.
Consultant paediatrician Mervyn Jaswon told the inquest: “Symptoms indicated respiratory disease like pneumonia. But we also tested her for TB, which was negative. She improved slightly a few days later and her white blood count went up.”
A week later Saffron got out of her hospital bed and collapsed. Despite several hours of attempted resuscitation she died that day.
Asked by Saffron’s father, Malcolm Bailey, why the tumour was not discovered earlier, Dr Jaswon explained that the symptoms indicated a respiratory illness.
“She seemed to be improving slightly with the treatment,” he added.
Pathologist Dr N Sebine described the cancer as one he might see a few times in 30 years. “Unfortunately, it is also one that doesn’t declare itself very easily,” he said.
Dr Sebine added that the cancer had virtually covered one kidney and was spreading to other organs. “This is so rare it was only identified in the 1980s and appears to affect people aged from 15 to 30. These tend to be people who have sickle cell traits.
“Part of the problem is the apparent lack of symptoms because people can survive with only one kidney.
After the inquest Saffron’s father Malcolm, a self-employed internet designer, said the family had been devastated by his daughter’s death.
“She was a girl with so much charm and promise,” he said. “She was very talented and a fantastic actress and singer. We are going to miss her very much.”
Verdict: natural causes.
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