From those that have supported me in the past through what appears to be a succession of bizarre decisions by my urology consultant, I would be grateful for advice on what the heck to do next. At the suggestion of my GP I arranged a private consultation with an oncologist to discuss the implications of the errors I feel my urologist has made including not reading fully a pathology report which reported adenocarcinoma in a single lymph node in the fat around my removed prostate. The private consultant reassured me that if he had been dealing with my case he would employ the same approach as the surgeon, wait for the PSA to ride above 0.2 before requesting any further scans or suggesting any form of treatment.
However I am slightly suspicious I might be being a victim of the old boys network because having seen the private consultant at 1800 hrs on Monday I received an email mid morning today from my surgeon acknowledging that visit and agreeing with the option that had been agreed was the best for me. The private consultant had obviously discussed my consultation with my surgeon even though they do not work in the same hospital. Surely this is not appropriate, or is it?
anyway my next problem is what to do with regards what I perceive as these bad clinical decisions. I have spoken to a solicitor on a no win no fee basis and they have agreed to take on my case. I have also contacted the GMC who said that my surgeon, from the verbal evidence I gave, appeared to have neglected his duty of care by not discussing the original biopsy results or the positive margins, and that only reading half the histology result and therefore missing the adenocarcinoma in a lymph node could be seen as negligent. Quandary, normally I would go full speed ahead with taking legal action and referring him to the GMC. But these are not normal times and I fear that taking either option would be too stressful, especially as the outcome was not guaranteed wasting effort I should be directing at fighting my cancer.
Sorry for rambling on.Suggestions please.
Hello Alan (Al985 )
i think you should continue your case against the surgeon for neglect/incompetence.
Let's face it, he's still working, so it's not just you - how many others have been affected? My wife (a RGN/RMN) and I have been through this - yes it's stressful but at the end of the day you get the result and you know someone who is clearly in the wrong has been brought to task. It's not the money - it's knowing that if not challenged others will suffer.
* Take up the case against him.
* Move NHS Trusts for your ongoing treatment - a complete break.
I hope this helps - you need to do this otherwise you will continue to to think "should I have taken action".
Best wishes - Brian.
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