Mis-Diagnosis!

Hi Jules,

You dont expect them to use common sense do you.

That would be too easy.  Look after yourself.

Take care and be safe BIg Hugs Love Sarsfield.xx

Hi Jules,

So agree with you, my friend lost her brother to prostate cancer which was not picked up soon enough.

Really feel sorry for the people who's cancer is'nt picked up in time.

Mine was and so had treatment.

Take care,

Pam x  

Hi Jules

Here Here!!!!!!!!!!!!, my mum found a lump on New Years Eve this year on her head size of her little finger nail, she went to doctors 2 days later, got sent for a Head Scan that day, hospital scan said thinning of the bone and showed a cyst and that a referrel was needed, so next she receives a letter from the Spinal Unit for a date in March, during this time she went back to her GP saying its getting bigger that she was worried about it, told her not to worry just a cyst

Goes to Spinal Unit in March to be told her appointment had been cancelled as it was with the wrong department, that she had to go back to her GP - so off she went to her GP, he made another referrel, she got a letter from a hospital in a totally different borough for an MRI scan in June, so in April went back as the lump was a size of half an orange on her head. So her GP rang a local hospital and got her an appointment with Head and Neck Cancer for mid April, the consultant walked in asked her where it was sore, had a feel (less than 20 seconds) and said that is a cyst, took her off the cancer list and said that she'd get an appointment through the post for a head scan.  So off she went to her GP again, he then rang back up said he wanted her to have a head scan - so 2 weeks ago (5 1/2 month after she found the lump) she went for a head scan, on the same day sent her for a chest xray, the next day we got a call come straight up to the hospital - went up, got told this growth is 8cm across has destroyed the skull and moved onto her brain (gone outside in).  Then said but dont worry your chest xray is clear.  So that day sent her for a full body scan, next day gets a phone call, please come back up.

Doctor who took her off the cancer list 6 weeks earlier, and previous day had told her - her lungs were clear, told her she has cancer and its primary lung cancer.

It is scary how they easily mis-diagnose things but even more so dismiss the patient when they are telling them there is something wrong.

If they had looked at my mums lump properly in the first instance and followed up, the cancer would still have been there, but her skull would still be intact and her brain protected.  Because they didn't act correctly she now has a 8cm hole in her skull with a tumour just working its way into her brain.

We are too focused on trying to get her better at the moment to be angry but it does make me angry and frustrated.

Rant over X

hi jules

definitely agree with you so strongly. we will never know if an earlier diagnosis would have saved my dad, and thats something that pains me so much that i do my very best to try not to dwell on the thought. i used to belong to the same GP surgery as my parents but changed to a different one as I knew it was only a matter of time until I wouldn't be able to keep my rage inside at an appointment of my own.

as you say, it happens all too often, and with devastating consequences. personally i feel its all about probability statistics and equally at fault, money.

there, thats my mini-rant added to the list!!

love, claire x

Thank you all so much for commenting and by doing so you have all re-enforced my belief that this is happening far too often. But what to do about it...... My first step is to advise my husbands oncologist to take a look at this site and read all the articles from the group "GPs have a lot to answer for "and see all the patients and carers reports on there.  There are sooooo many.   I agree with you that funding is also an issue and Doctors are reluctant to refer patients for expensive tests but surely if you catch it early you are prevent the patient going through far more costly treatments at a later date! Surely????? I can feel a letter to my MP coming on and my husband say "Oh God, here she goes, on another mission."