Mum told she had cancer and she hasnt

[juless77]

What shall we do.... Mum has OPCD went for her annual review and they wanted her to have scans etc and she went for the results she was told she had lung cancer and she had to go back after 2 weeks for them to discuss options....When she went back to see another consultant he told her she didn't have cancer and to come back as normal after a year for her yearly check up ....for those 2 week she was heartbroken planning her funeral planning things etc ....Now she is so relieved she doesn't have cancer but we feel the heartbreak she suffered lessons need to be learnt so where do I start with the complaint on her behalf...and what would you say ?

I would probably ask why they made the mistake, what did they see that made them think cancer as I’d be curious about this and then simply be happy that she hasn’t after all. My dad died of lung cancer last year and it was horrific.

Mistakes happen and putting in a complaint about this particular situation won't stop another mistake like this.

It won't have been done maliciously and it's far better that it happened that way around rather than the reverse.

Yes important to complain so they can reflect and work out why she was given an incorrect diagnosis and how they can prevent future misdiagnosis through agreed stratagies

How can you trust either the cancer or the no cancer diagnosis? I'd ask for a second opinion.

That happened with us many years ago. We were told my Dad had bone cancer & had at best a year to live. We went through an agonising month before being told at the next appointment it wasn't cancer it was osteoporosis.

It had been a genuine mistake & to be honest we were so relieved that we didn't put in a complaint. We went out for dinner to celebrate

I'm appalled and horrified in equal measure that this has happened to her.

Perhaps you could contact PALS at the local hospital on her behalf, tell them what's happened and ask for their advice and support. This needs to be investigated, and they also need to see her again anyway, because how can she trust either diagnosis?

PALS would be the place to start with a complaint about hospital care. It sounds like a very confusing and scary time and I'm sorry that your mum experienced that.

It sounds like more clarification is needed to find out why the diagnosis had changed within those two weeks. I may be misinterpreting, but it comes across that your mum may still be confused about her appointment with the second consultant? Is there a possibility to contact her usual consultant (as I understand it, she is under a respiratory consultant for COPD?) to try and clarify things?

Diagnosis still isn't an exact science in many cases, despite advances in technology. All kinds of scans can give false positives and false negatives...

I'd want to understand what had happened - was the scan showing something that might have appeared to be cancer, but a more experienced consultant disagreed With the diagnosis? If so - that's the nature of medicine, and why second opinions are sometimes needed.

I would want a third opinion!

There was a post on here a week or two ago from someone who had been "told she had cancer." It turned out she had just had some suspicious symptoms and was being referred onto the 2 week pathway to rule cancer out - but that's not how she'd heard it at first, she'd heard the word cancer and (understandably) panicked. Before you put in a complaint, are you very sure this isn't what happened with your mum?

I would be asking for an explanation before I complained. You've had some excellent news and importantly you now know that your mum's medical team are diligent in looking out for cancer - the last thing you want is doctors who see something that looks like cancer but do nothing about it.

I know two people this happened to recently, and it was handled very badly. It has been quite traumatic trying to process one minute you think you have a terminal outlook, especially when you have a family, then you don't.

i would imagine she didnt take it all in, did she get a letter each time?
heard the word cancer and didnt listen clearly.

I’d get another opinion IIWY

I think you need a 3rd opinion to be honest

Get someone else to check for sure

What do you want them to do?

Medicine is not an exact science, you know.

And making a complaint so "lessons can be learnt" is somewhat arrogant, unless you've done exceptionally well at school, studied your arse off at university, suffered through internships and all the ranks of being a 'junior' doctor(until you're about 40).

What do you think the experts you consulted needed to learn?

Gosh.

How can you trust it's the 2nd Dr that's wrong not the first, after that?

I'd be getting a 3rd opinion.

I would just be very very grateful that the diagnosis was wrong that way around.

This.
Just be pleased that your mother is well - there is no need to make a fuss.

It happens, no test is 100%. No point in getting angry about it, the only way to avoid occasional misdiagnosis is to never give any diagnosis at all. But she has OPCD? so.....

My DH was in hospital some years ago and had a routine Chest X Ray.

Next day, the doctor came to tell us he had lung cancer.

Half and hour later, she returned and told us she'd come to the wrong room, and it was another patient who had lung cancer.

She was very apologetic and clearly horribly overworked. In fact she was extremely upset.

We were just glad that DH didn't have it. We felt sorry for the doctor. We didn't take it any further. Mistakes happen.

Similar happened to my sil some years ago. was told she had Ovarian cancer, then uterine cancer and was even referred to Royal marsden specialist Oncology centre. Then told had a condition that acts like cancer but was not ! Fortunately all resolved with surgery. Sorry your mum has gone through this.

Jesus, in my world that would be best case scenario.

Jesus, some of these minimising replies.

If your mum was categorically told she has cancer - and then that she didn't - then clearly a mistake was made.

I would be furious. It absolutely needs raising.

I'd be raising a formal complaint and I'd also be demanding a third opinion from someone else, along with a full explanation.

How do you know complaining won't stop another mistake? Ludicrous post.

How do you know it's the expert's mistake? For all you know it's a clerical or administrative mistake which is avoidable through improved procedures.