Cancer victim 'falsely reassured'

Seventeen women had a diagnosis delay of more than three months

A woman wrongly told she did not have breast cancer after a misdiagnosis was repeatedly reassured by medical staff, says her solicitor.

Twenty-two patients were wrongly advised after misdiagnoses by a radiologist in Greater Manchester.

Health managers have admitted that some of the women could die because of mistakes made from April 2003.

Stephen Jones, a solicitor for one of the women, said she was "very distressed" at what had happened.

He added: "It was all the more so distressing because throughout the course of her treatment she had been reassured at every angle that everything was OK.

"So to suddenly find that there was a problem after all - and a problem of this gravity - obviously knocked her for six."

I offer my sincere apologies to the women affected by this and the worry and distress caused Chris Harrison GMSHA

The radiologist, who has been suspended, had been working at North Manchester General Hospital in Crumpsall and Trafford General.

Almost 2,500 scans were checked again after concerns over the quality of his work last year.

A report published on Tuesday shows that decisions for 238 patients were wrong, and of those, 22 women who were given the all-clear have now discovered they have breast cancer.

Of those 22, 17 had a delay in diagnosis of more than three months.

One woman had a delay of two years before she was told she had breast cancer.

Dr Richard Campbell, medical director at Trafford, said: "None have died. It is possible we think in 17 cases, out of 22, the delay in diagnosis was long enough that it might alter their outcome.

Independent investigation

"The longer the delay, then of course, your risks are going to go up."

Dr Sarah Rawlings, head of policy and information at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, says that it was a "very anxious time" for those affected, but that the case was "an exception to the rule".

Chris Harrison, from Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority (GMSHA), said: "On behalf of the health authority I offer my apologies to the women affected by this, and for the worry and distress caused, in particular to the patients whose cancer diagnosis became delayed as a result of this incident."

He added that an independent investigation would be carried out.

Helplines for patients involved are available on 0161 455 0059 for Trafford or 0161 656 1999 for North Manchester.

Have you been affected by issues covered in this story? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below.

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Your comments

A friend of mine was told a lump was benign. One year later, when another lump was discovered, they checked her records and found the original lump had also been cancer. She had a mastectomy and thankfully no recurrence so far - but the risk is greater of course. It took me several weeks to get the result of a D&C because "the computer printer wasn't working". On the final day, having been reassured that, if the results were positive they would have telephoned the relevant department, I was visited by my GP and told I definitely had cancer. So that phone call had never been made. I had a huge (and miraculously dead)cancer which had got so large it had cut off its own blood supply ...
Jacqueline Staniforth, croydon UK

Recently I received a letter from the hospital I attend, stating that a radiologist working for the hospital had been suspended. All the mammograms taken in the last two years were going to be reviewed by another consultant. Luckily for me mine was still all clear. But it makes me wonder in light of today's news that another radiologist has been suspended, just how big is the problem of misdiagnosis. Is this only the tip of the iceberg that we are hearing about.
Deirdre, Belfast

I work for a professional regulatory body in the healthcare sector and see a lot of complaints from people who have had false negative results; I have also dealt with complaints where people have had major surgery as a result of false positive results. Having had this experience through work, I will always insist on having a second, independent, test done whenever I have any medical investigations undertaken.
Neil, Manchester, UK

Apologies are not good enough - this should NOT happen. I have to have a mammogram every two years and I place my trust in the medical profession - when they tell me I am "clear", I believe them.

My heart goes out to the women affected by this situation - suspending the radiologist is not sufficient. One case could be understood as an error but twenty two - no way!
Alison Petrie, London, UK

I attended the Breast Clinic at Rochdale Birch Hill approx 2 1/2 - 3yrs ago. After numerous biopsies I was diagnosed and the consultant said the lump I had was cancerous. I went into North Manchester Hospital for a lumpectomy and after a few weeks they did a biopsy on the lump and said it was on the borderline between all clear and cancerous but they decided it was all clear. After reading the article and listening to the news, I am bit concerned that they got the results wrong.
Susan Turner, Rochdale

My Mother was given the all clear by Radiologists at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport in 2001, this was a misdiagnosis and she was later told around a year later that the breast cancer had never cleared. My Mum has now died of cancer aged 43 on 22nd December 2005.
Christopher Berry, Stockport, England

Interested to read your story. I had a similar thing happen me in 1994 when an incorrect cancer diagnosis was given to me although it was corrected within 2-3 hours of seeing my consultant with a phone call to home. Long enough though for me to tell everyone close to me waiting for news that I was 'all clear'.
Philip Pedlow, Belfast

A friend of my mother went to the doctor after finding a lump in her breast, she too was sent away being told she was 'all clear'. However the lump got bigger, but decided not to return to the doctor for some months as she did not want to be seen as a time-waster after being told she was perfectly healthy. She now has stage 2 cancer, with a life expectancy of 2-3years. This is simply not acceptable!
Rebecca, Peterborough

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