“No family should ever have to watch a loved one deteriorate while waiting for the NHS to catch up”
Sally Rae, 54(Image: Supplied)
A devastated Lanarkshire mum battling cancer is fighting for time after doctors were “too late” in catching the aggressive illness. Sally Rae spent nearly two years with recurring urinary tract infections (UTI), but it wasn’t until a cystoscopy at the beginning of this year revealed the reason behind her worsening symptoms.
In 2024, the 54-year-old presented to her local GP after suffering back-to-back UTIs however, no investigations were carried out and Sally says she was just given antibiotics to flush the infection out of her system.
But speaking to Glasgow Live, the mum-of-two shared that UTIs would return, each time being more painful.
“As soon as I was finished the antibiotics I was getting another infection. At one point I think I had ten courses of antibiotics one after the other,” said Sally.
Sally with her daughter Lisa
The grandmother, from Hamilton, previously had Cauda Equina Syndrome, which is a split disc that compresses the nerves at the base of the spine leading to a lack of feeling in the bladder. Doctors initially believed Sally’s recurring infections were down to this, leaving her desperate for answers as “something didn’t feel right”.
With her symptoms worsening, in early 2025, Sally was referred to a urologist at University Hospital Hairmyres in East Kilbride. It was there that medics discovered “lots of debris” in Sally’s bladder, but she claims no further investigations were carried out, despite debris being able to “hide a tumour”.
Later that year, around September, Sally, who was still working full-time, began receiving medication that would reline her bladder.
She said: “I was attending the rapid access clinic in Hairmyres to receive treatment to reline my bladder, but at this time I was complaining to the nurses a lot about the pain I was in.
“Urine tests kept showing further UTIs which I was given antibiotics for, again. On top of this I was urinating around every 20 minutes, I was exhausted.”
In the autumn of 2025, Sally was having a lot of pain down her left side, she explained it as a “throbbing” sensation which travelled from her pelvic area to her kidney. “I knew something wasn’t right,” she said.
“I kept saying ‘this is not a normal UTI, this is different’, I don’t know how many times I said this.
“It was a fight to get an appointment at my GP, and when I finally got through it would be a telephone consultation the majority of the time, with more antibiotics given without even seeing me.
“This was the first point where the NHS failed. If they had seen me they would have seen that I didn’t look great – it was taking its toll.”
Sally after her diagnosis – she has sadly lost a significant amount of weight
By October, Sally’s treatment to reline her bladder was stopped as she was in “too much pain”. She was then referred back to the urologist at Hairmyres but it was around a three-month wait to receive that appointment, she says.
“Everything changed” over Christmas, said Sally. The 54-year-old passed six gallbladder stones, all measuring at around 7mm – it was then that medics decided to investigate further.
In January, a cystoscopy revealed a 3cm tumour in Sally’s bladder, and by March a routine TURBT procedure found that the tumour had grown in size to 8cm. The cancer was “fast-growing and aggressive”, with Sally eventually diagnosed with Stage 3 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the bladder.
Two weeks later, the disease had already spread to her lymph nodes, with now a second tumour measuring 17mm.
It was then that Sally was told that chemotherapy and radiotherapy does not better this type of cancer, and her only life-saving option was to have her bladder removed.
Sally went ahead with the surgery this month on May 1, but while on the operating table surgeons discovered that the cancer had “grown three times in size”. And with the tumour having spread to a major artery, the removal of her bladder was deemed no longer safe.
Sally’s heartbroken daughter Lisa, 32, said: “In only a matter of weeks, the cancer had outpaced the system meant to treat it.
“Families like ours are left watching the clock run down while waiting for appointments, scans, results, and surgeries that simply come too late.”
The mum’s cancer is now Stage 4 and she has been placed on palliative care.
Sally added: “There isn’t enough awareness of bladder cancer. This is the time to speak up – there is something fundamentally wrong here.”
The mum did praise the compassion and care shown by many medical staff however, feels there is “many things” the NHS can do better. “I know resources are tight, but more needs to be done so people receive help when they desperately need it.”
An NHS Lanarkshire spokesperson said: “We are very sorry to hear about Sally’s diagnosis and our thoughts are with her and her family at this extremely difficult time.
“We take any concerns about diagnosis and treatment very seriously. As we cannot comment on the specifics of an individual case due to patient confidentiality, we would encourage Sally and her family to contact us directly so we can look into this fully.
“Sadly, some cancer can be complex to diagnose, particularly where early symptoms are similar to more common conditions. However, people who experience ongoing or worsening symptoms should be appropriately assessed and escalated for further investigation where needed.”
In light of their family’s tragedy, daughter Lisa created a petition named ‘Sally’s Law’. Speaking to Glasgow Live she explained that “no family should ever have to watch a loved one deteriorate while waiting for the NHS to catch up”.
Sally’s Law calls for:
• Rapid pathways for aggressive cancers
• Diagnosis within 10 days of urgent suspicion
• Treatment within 14 days of confirmed diagnosis
• Mandatory escalation when timescales are missed
• Real‑time tracking so patients aren’t left in the dark
• Increased diagnostic and surgical capacity
You can sign the petition here.
Sally is now urging others to “speak up” if they feel something isn’t right. The 54-year-old is hoping to raise awareness of bladder cancer, something she herself was not properly informed of.
Symptoms of bladder cancer include:blood in your peepain, burning, stinging or itching when you peegetting lots of urinary tract infectionsneeding to pee more oftenneeding to pee very suddenlylosing your appetite and losing weight without trying topain in your back and lower tummyaching, pain or tenderness in your bonesfeeling very tired for no reason and feeling generally unwell