A young woman from Whitstable with a hole in her breast says the NHS has let her down.

Jessica Cooper, 21, has spent the last year in and out of hospital, at appointments with doctors and seeing health specialists.

But no one has found a cure for the painful gash she says is ruining her life.

It often weeps, leaving discoloured marks on her clothes, lets out a smell she describes as like “rotting flesh”, and has shattered her self-confidence.

She cannot go swimming or wear certain bras or tops, and her relationship with her partner has been a struggle as “even a cuddle hurts”.

Her ordeal began last September when she discovered a lump in her breast.

After a visit to the doctor, Jessica, of Maugham Court, was referred to a breast specialist at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital.

She said: “I was very nervous about going but they made me feel even more uncomfortable.

“I went away feeling confused and upset with no real answers” - Jessica Cooper

“I wasn’t told the doctor’s name and he just put his hands on my breasts, wiggled them about a bit and said ‘I’m not worried’.

“I went away feeling confused and upset with no real answers.”

When she eventually went to private healthcare service Bupa, it was discovered she had grade one lumps which could become cancerous.

Shortly after her assessment with the breast specialist, she was at work at a care home when she felt a ‘rip’ in her breast as she leant over, and it was only when she went home that she discovered the hole.

She said: “It was like someone had got a cigarette and pressed it into me. It was horrible. I sat on my bed and shook and cried.

“It has only got worse since then and nobody seems to have a solution for me. They book me in for appointments, suggest it will heal in a few weeks. It doesn’t, I go back to them, and it goes in circles.”

Jessica was booked in for a biopsy at the William Harvey Hospital, and turned up only to be told she did not have an appointment.

When she eventually had one, and was then booked in to get her results, she had to cancel because of a last-minute shift at work.

She then received a letter saying she had been discharged, with no warning, biopsy results or indication of what she should do next.

She turned to Bupa, which offered her a full health check and smear test, discovering she had yet more abnormalities and was at high risk of cervical cancer.

“Bupa made me feel human again. The NHS made me feel like a robot, which they haven’t got any spare parts for” - Jessica Cooper

When she went back to the NHS, she was refused a colposcopy because she is not yet 25, meaning she would have to fork out £800 with Bupa.

She said: “Of course I will pay that money because my health is important to me.

“Bupa made me feel human again. The NHS made me feel like a robot, which they haven’t got any spare parts for.”

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust medical director Dr Paul Stevens said: “I’m extremely sorry Ms Cooper has not received the care she expects from us. I would encourage her to contact our patient experience team who will ensure a thorough investigation is carried out.

"This will include any recommendations for changes to our services we can make to improve them for Ms Cooper and others.”