Womans ailment misdiagnosed, has 2 months to live.

Gael23

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/single-mother-just-two-months-3739276
I hope the Doctors get taken to the cleaners and bled dry over this

Menas

This happens all the time, in Ireland as well as the UK.
Shows why getting a second opinion is so important.

Someone I know had something similar here in Dublin last year. He was in his 40s and generally feeling very unwell so visited his GP. Doc said there was likely nothing wrong with him but sent him for tests anyway.
My friend heard nothing back after the tests. Then he got bad one night and had to go to the hospital. They looked at his records and were shocked that he had not been receiving treatment for cancer as this is what the results had shown.

Turns out the test results got 'lost in the system'. He died 4 weeks later.

Calibos

Thought I was going to read a story about a new lease of life based on the thread title. Perhaps a better title might be 'Medics fail to diagnose Cancer'

omerin

Doctors are only human, they make mistakes. Unfortunately as in this case, a lot of mistakes. If in doubt get a second opinion and a third...

anncoates

ryanf1 wrote: »

I hope the Doctors get taken to the cleaners and bled dry over this

The stages of finding out you don't actually have a potentially terminal illness:

Joy
Relief
Heightened appreciation of life
Money making opportunity.

Tasden

anncoates wrote: »

The stages of finding out you don't actually have a potentially terminal illness:

Joy
Relief
Heightened appreciation of life
Money making opportunity.

Did you read the article?

ancapailldorcha

Looks like it was just a mistake. If doctors were taken to the cleaners for things like this, we'd be complaining about them refusing to see patients. The other issue is that the NHS is horrifically underfunded.

gctest50

ryanf1 wrote: »

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/single-mother-just-two-months-3739276
I hope the Doctors get taken to the cleaners and bled dry over this

Same as driving your car, they make mistakes,they have insurance

Day in, day out - its not going to stop tomorrow just cos

Figures cited in a parliamentary response by Minister for Health Dr James Reilly reveal that over €197 million has been paid out in the last three years.

2011 ~ €64 million was paid out
2012 ~ €47 million
2013 ~ €85 million

http://www.medicalindependent.ie/page.aspx?contentid=45320

The Killing Season

The odds of death for patients admitted on the first Wednesday in August was 6% higher


We found evidence that patients admitted on the first Wednesday in August have a higher early death rate in English hospitals compared with patients admitted on the previous Wednesday. This was higher for patients admitted with a medical primary diagnosis.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0007103

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqImkDgDwHU

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

I think it happens a lot more often than we think. My dad died with cancer in December. He had been diagnosed in feb, and told in September there was no active cancer. A few days later he started having turns, like mini strokes. In October they did a CT scan but there was no active cancer still. November he was a completely different person, confused, hallucinating. His doctors thought it was on his brain, we thought it was on his brain but it wasnt showing up on the CT scan. Absolute joke of a system.

ancapailldorcha

LexieOnRale wrote: »

I think it happens a lot more often than we think. My dad died with cancer in December. He had been diagnosed in feb, and told in September there was no active cancer. A few days later he started having turns, like mini strokes. In October they did a CT scan but there was no active cancer still. November he was a completely different person, confused, hallucinating. His doctors thought it was on his brain, we thought it was on his brain but it wasnt showing up on the CT scan. Absolute joke of a system.

I'm sorry to hear that. Medicine isn't always straightforward, unfortunately meaning that things like this can happen.

She wasn't misdiagnosed with cancer



Poor woman.

Calibos

anncoates wrote: »

The stages of finding out you don't actually have a potentially terminal illness:

Joy
Relief
Heightened appreciation of life
Money making opportunity.

Thanks for proving my point about the misleading thread title.

anncoates

Calibos wrote: »

Thanks for proving my point about the misleading thread title.

Apologies. Pretty thick of me.

My view would remain same though that I'd rather see an investigation tthan litigation but I still shouldn't have avoided the article because it was the mirror.

GLaDOS

Thread title seriously needs to be changed.

My mam went to the GP about a lump in her breast and was told that it wasn't serious. She didn't feel right about this and went to get a 2nd opinion, was told to get it checked out at the hospital straight away, turned out to be breast cancer. Doctors get things wrong unfortunately.

Ruu

Fixed thread title.

Mod.

Soft Falling Rain

ryanf1 wrote: »

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/single-mother-just-two-months-3739276
I hope the Doctors get taken to the cleaners and bled dry over this

They are taken to the cleaners when this happens and rightfully so, not that a payout eases the situation in anyway.

TBH it's easy to dismiss situations like this by saying "they should have gotten a 2nd opinion", but people have to understand that doctors are in highly trusted positions. You want to believe that they have exhausted every avenue and have come to a solid diagnosis. If they are not confident that they have then they should be the ones to recommend a 2nd opinion be sought.

anncoates

anncoates wrote: »

Apologies. Pretty thick of me.

My view would remain same though that I'd rather see an investigation tthan litigation but I still shouldn't have avoided the article because it was the mirror.

I would agree if it had been your original post, but the woman had a family and dependants who are now without financial security as a result of this misdiagnosis, so I do think a civil case is justified in this case.

--LOS--

This happens all the time, don't want to be insensitive but I think it's good to know your own self with regards to health problems. I know people say don't self-diagnose but whenever I have something going on, I like to do my own research on it, and also listen to a medical professional. But if I just throw "back pain, heavy discharge, weight loss" into google, cervical cancer pops up straight away, she could have asked for a smear test and avoided this. The article says the doctors refused to screen her, I doubt any doctor could outright refuse to give you a test if you ask for it. Doctors are great, but also listen to different opinions and also to yourself. Obviously the doctors still failed her here.

--LOS--

--LOS-- wrote: »

This happens all the time, don't want to be insensitive but I think it's good to know your own self with regards to health problems. I know people say don't self-diagnose but whenever I have something going on, I like to do my own research on it, and also listen to a medical professional. But if I just throw "back pain, heavy discharge, weight loss" into google, cervical cancer pops up straight away, she could have asked for a smear test and avoided this. The article says the doctors refused to screen her, I doubt any doctor could outright refuse to give you a test if you ask for it. Doctors are great, but also listen to different opinions and also to yourself. Obviously the doctors still failed her here.

The doctor referred her for a smear test but as a "non urgent" case, so there was a long waiting list - longer than she had.

--LOS--

Deleted User wrote: »

The doctor referred her for a smear test but as a "non urgent" case, so there was a long waiting list - longer than she had.

ah, I didn't see that.

I've kinda learned the hard way that you really have to be insistent with doctors, here anyway they have that reputation, that you really have to tell them what you want. She trusted the doctors probably, I just feel kinda strongly that you shouldn't place so much trust in them.

Maybe she couldn't afford (financially) not to be on a long waiting list though and that's sad.


I will say though, that wouldn't also apply to mental health, you can't trust yourself too much then!

Soft Falling Rain

--LOS-- wrote: »

This happens all the time, don't want to be insensitive but I think it's good to know your own self with regards to health problems. I know people say don't self-diagnose but whenever I have something going on, I like to do my own research on it, and also listen to a medical professional. But if I just throw "back pain, heavy discharge, weight loss" into google, cervical cancer pops up straight away, she could have asked for a smear test and avoided this. The article says the doctors refused to screen her, I doubt any doctor could outright refuse to give you a test if you ask for it. Doctors are great, but also listen to different opinions and also to yourself. Obviously the doctors still failed her here.

What if you are listening to yourself and persist that something is wrong when you're told there's not? It's not a black and white situation, people do listen to themselves but are met with a brick wall.

The symptoms described in the OP are not rare, and I've seen similar symptoms misdiagnosed before, yet doctors are still not able to say "hold on, even if we can't pinpoint the exact illness we've seen these symptoms before and they're not good."

Soft Falling Rain

--LOS-- wrote: »

I will say though, that wouldn't also apply to mental health, you can't trust yourself too much then!

A mental health issue is not quite the same timebomb as undiagnosed cancer.

edit sorry for not replying to this earlier, I was still writing my previous post when you posted the above.

Gael23

Surely any good Doctor would put 2 and 2 together and realise something isn't right and send the patient to a gynaecologist/
Insurance will cover the litigation lawsuit but it won't protect their reputation

Capt'n Midnight

The opposite has happened too. Patient told they have 2 months to live so they quit their job and go on a spending spree.

And then two months later, nothing happens. Except that now they are jobless and broke and end up suing the doctor.

This will always happen, because until those infallible robot doctors take over, doctors will be human and make errors. Everyone does it sometimes but with doctors the stakes can be (and are) much, much higher. Wilful misdiagnosis and human error are two very different things.

The other point is that as long as the health system is understaffed and patients are herded through as quickly as possible, to get as many seen by as few staff as possible, the conditions for error will be perfect. Nobody wants to be seen by an overworked and overtired doc, but that's what's usually on offer in the hospital system.

It should never have happened, but it will continue to happen.

hatrickpatrick

That came horribly close to being me back in 2007, when my hydrocephalus was, as repeatedly explained to me, simply a tension headache. As far as I'm aware, I had lost consciousness almost a year later because it finally became overwhelming, and if they hadn't diagnosed it there and then I would never have regained it.

Really feel for this poor woman

hatrickpatrick

Candie wrote: »

This will always happen, because until those infallible robot doctors take over, doctors will be human and make errors.

I hate to say this, but my personal belief is that one of the main reasons for these incidents is that human doctors believe they are infallible robots and don't listen to their patients' gut instincts about what their own body is telling them.

Soft Falling Rain

Candie wrote: »

This will always happen, because until those infallible robot doctors take over, doctors will be human and make errors. Everyone does it sometimes but with doctors the stakes can be (and are) much, much higher. Wilful misdiagnosis and human error are two very different things.

The other point is that as long as the health system is understaffed and patients are herded through as quickly as possible, to get as many seen by as few staff as possible, the conditions for error will be perfect. Nobody wants to be seen by an overworked and overtired doc, but that's what's usually on offer in the hospital system.

It should never have happened, but it will continue to happen.

I'd rather a docter accepted he was overworked and tired and refer a patient to someone else, than treat that person in a half assed manner, just so he's seen as invincible.

UCDVet

I've had a similar experience. Long story short....I've shelled out over 400 EUR for seven office visits and I've received such wisdom as 'Maybe try drinking water'. Yeah - I paid 70 EUR for a doctor to tell me that. That was the entire visit. Still got the problem, but can't bring myself to drop any more money. It's objective, so I know it's not in my head or anything. The doctors all say it's a problem, all tell me to try something that doesn't help, all tell me to come back if it doesn't help, then they gladly give me an obvious piece of advice and tell me to pay on my way out. Maddening.

Money is tight; when you're riding a bicycle because the Dublin Bus ticket is too expensive, dropping 70 quid for a doctor to say, 'Try an over the counter allergy medication' after explaining that I've already tried over the counter allergy medication is infuriating. I've also had one doctor declare that it was caused by a deviated septum, in no uncertain terms, only to have the next doctor assure me that I do not have a deviated septum.

UCDVet

Soft Falling Rain wrote: »

I'd rather a docter accepted he was overworked and tired and refer a patient to someone else, than treat that person in a half assed manner, just so he's seen as invincible.

At the very least, can we get 'tired and overworked' discounts?! The cost of these visits are killing me.

Umadbrah?

It just shows you how short life is. Frankly I'm not afraid of death because I'll be gone but I'm dreading the day one of my parents pass away.

I honestly don't know what I will do...