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 last February. But she was diagnosed with cervical cancer last November after being admitted to hospital when her condition worsened, and died early on Saturday morning. Now her family and friends have launched an online petition calling for smear tests to be offered to women from the age of 16, rather than 25. Entitled 'Sophie's Choice', the petition has been signed by more than 45,000 people since its publication on Saturday,and 10,000 of them in a three-hour period this morning.
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Sophie Jones, 19, from Eastham, near Liverpool, first fell ill last February
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She suffered stomach cramps and knew something was wrong with her
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But doctors refused her a cervical smear test as she was under 25
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Doctors initially blamed it on Crohn's Disease but her condition worsened
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She was admitted to hospital in November and vowed to fight 'to the end'
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Sophie died of cervical cancer on Saturday after doctors said it had spread
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Her mother, Peri Jones, 47, said: 'Her positive attitude was incredible'
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Cervical screening only offered to women over 25 as so rare in the young
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Now her family and friends have launched online petition to change this
'Our @placeholder has been failed in the worst way, and I need 500,000 signatures to be heard, one million to get this changed hopefully.'