When Liz Hatton's mother saw her 16-year-old daughter losing weight and experiencing stomach issues, her first assumption was that her child had developed an eating disorder.
But the real culprit was a form of cancer so rare that just 12 cases are diagnosed in England each year, and it has no standard treatment.
Now Liz, who captured the hearts of the nation during a touching meeting with the Princess of Wales, has died less than a year after her diagnosis of a desmoplastic small round cell tumour.
The hugely talented photographer slipped away in the early hours of yesterday at her home in Harrogate.
The teenager's disease is an incredibly rare form of cancer that develops in the connective tissue, muscles, fat, nerves and blood vessels that surround organs in the abdomen and pelvis.
"I was worried about anorexia to be honest," Vicky recalled. "She'd lost so much weight over the summer with her GCSEs - she was anxious and wanted to do well."
Liz had already made a GP appointment for bloating when her health woes escalated. The bloating became visible swelling in her abdomen and pain.
"It just didn't make sense," Liz recalled earlier this year. "Am I still on my period, am I not? It was excruciating."
Calling NHS 111, Liz received an urgent non-emergency hospital appointment where staff suggested she might have an ovarian cyst. However, further tests revealed masses on her liver and ovaries. Doctors soon confirmed it was indeed cancer.
Liz remembered bluntly asking doctors, "am I f*?", before apologising to her mother for swearing.
The answer from medics at the time was 'no' given her age and general health but acknowledged treatment would be gruelling. She had somewhere between six months and three years to live.
"Even at 15 per cent," Vicky recalled thinking positively about Liz's chances due to her strong immune system.
Liz underwent intensive chemotherapy but decided to stop treatment after September when it stopped being effective. She chose instead to spend time with family rather than endure more side effects from hospital treatments.
"Enjoy what time I have left," she explained as part of compiling a bucket list which reached royal ears leading them inviting Liz for tea at Windsor Castle after photographing William’s investiture ceremony there too!