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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Suing the hospital for telling me I had cancer?

426 replies

MoralityPondering · 16/06/2021 12:58

Can I? Should I? Family and friends are telling me to. I was diagnosed 2 months ago at a private hospital after MRI & biopsy. 3 surgeries later and now last week I've been told it isn't cancer at all. They had it looked at 3 times to decide it wasn't cancer so it doesn't seem to be a straight forward decision. I'm not sure it's the right thing to do anyway. I just feel how I did when I was diagnosed - like my life has been ripped apart again.

OP posts:
Puppysharness · 16/06/2021 18:59

Of course you deserve compensation for this. I would 100% pursue it, regardless of NHS of private.

Sorry you went through this.

Eviethyme · 16/06/2021 19:03

I would sue

Cruisinforcroissant · 16/06/2021 19:21

Something similar happened to us. We were the 1%- the tiny odds that people pray for it to be them. For us it was retested twice before we had a clear diagnosis.(4weeks) I had planned everything mentally and physically based on having a cancer diagnosis.
If pathology took 3 weeks to test and determine it would have been impossible to do this without removal. Some things are borderline.
You are feeling shock and guilt and relief- a fraud — empty, not euphoric. It is like a form of grief - it will heal in time. I wouldn’t necessarily jump in to legals but try and learn what happened, heal physically but mentally. You can do legals in due course if you still feel it’s right but look forward with hope knowing you have what many wish for. It took about 6 months for us.

MoralityPondering · 16/06/2021 19:29

@2bazookas

Yoo said the cancer diagnosis was "after biopsy, mammogram and Contrast MRI."

Was that a needle biopsy, or biopsy following a lumpectomy ( surgical operation to take out the lump ).

Diagnosed with Core Biopsy.
OP posts:
billy1966 · 16/06/2021 19:45

OP, having had 3 dear friends go through breast cancer treatment in the past 2 years and how grueling the surgeries were, you have my sincere sympathy.

They to had to manage the stress, grief and worry of all those around them.....also very stressful and guilt inducing.

I cannot imagine how they would have dealt with this new information that you have been vaguely provided.

The evasive ness of your consultant, his unwillingness to give you clear concise answers is very concerning.

I think you need to find a medical negligence specialist lawyer to advocate on your behalf, so you get answers first and foremost.
Whether you sue is a decision to make when you find out the truth, however you may need to sue, to find that truth.

Flowers
KarmaStar · 16/06/2021 19:52

They acted quickly.
It was complicated,would you rather they took the chance and waited?because if they had and it was you would not be here now.They had to do it to be sure.can you not see that?
Be thankful it wasnt,that you are alive,healthy and you are going to live life to its fullest now.
Your family are thinking negatively,you don't need that,life is infinitely more precious than money.
Have a fantastic future 🌈😊💐

whynotwhatknot · 16/06/2021 19:55

You'll need money for further surgeries etc so yes i would look into suing-and it was private assuming you paid for all this

whynotwhatknot · 16/06/2021 19:58

shes not exactly healthy though is she with limited arm movement

roobicoobi · 16/06/2021 20:28

They acted quickly.

That acted incorrectly

It was complicated,would you rather they took the chance and waited?because if they had and it was you would not be here now.They had to do it to be sure.can you not see that?

Can she not see what? You are not seriously suggesting performing a mastectomy just in case, is a reasonable corse of treatment?

Be thankful it wasnt,that you are alive,healthy and you are going to live life to its fullest now.

OP is thankful. This has been covered. It's ok to be thankful you are alive but also respond to the trauma you have been through. Stop trying to deny OP the very most basic of feelings towards a really serious medical procedure.

Your family are thinking negatively,you don't need that,life is infinitely more precious than money.
Have a fantastic future 🌈😊💐

The money will help OP pay for future treatment caused by this error. A rainbow and a bunch of flowers just isn't it.

Your post is condescending, rude and entirely unhelpful.

roobicoobi · 16/06/2021 20:30
  • just to clarify that should say Performing a mastectomy under the guise of cancer just in case.

OP was told she had cancer and had a breast removed. OP was not told it was a just in case procedure.

userlotsanumbers · 16/06/2021 20:35

I'm struck by the management of the lymph nodes, as axillary surgery means that you have more risk of morbidity, like, not being able to move your arm or lymphodeama. What did the fine needle aspirate show? If it was a node that did not have cancer in, why then clear the level 1 and 2 nodes without a sentinel node biopsy?
I suspect that because it's private, they just don't have access to the nuclear medicine service that is required (biggest fallacy in modern UK life, that private healthcare is better than the NHS - you will miss it when they've broken it and sold it).
Your question should be 'is the equipment/service available at this hospital for sentinel node biopsy?' followed up by 'is level 1 & 2 clearance in the absence of a malignant node the best practice?' (assuming your FNA was clear of malignancy).

overwork · 16/06/2021 20:49

I wonder if you could start with a formal complaint. Your results should be analysed by a doctor not involved in your case, to see if they would have made the same decisions. You should be provided with a copy of their investigation (complaint response).
If it seems that this is the decision that others would have come to that's one thing, if it seems that further tests should have been done / different course of action taken, then that is quite something else. Then you could look at taking it further.
As others have said the line between benign and cancerous isn't always as clear as you would like to think, but they have removed a part of your body unnecessarily. It is not surprising that you don't have a clue how you feel right now. There's mental and physical healing ahead of you.

ohbygolly · 16/06/2021 20:50

Be thankful it wasnt,that you are alive,healthy and you are going to live life to its fullest now.
Your family are thinking negatively,you don't need that,life is infinitely more precious than money.
Have a fantastic future 🌈😊💐

I'm torn between thinking this is patronising drivel or just pure naivety.

This thread has shown the incredible void of understanding as to how awful dealing with incidents of medical negligence is for all the victims.

When things like this happen, there is a full cycle of grief. Grief for the life you had, grief for the life you won't have. You cry for so many reasons. You cry for your children, your family, your friends. You cry for yourself. You swing between so many emotions of relief, depression, gratitude, sadness, and incredible anger. Anger over what happened, anger at what was taken, anger that the future that was meant to be will never be. Pure, raw anger.

None of it is pretty. Ever. Victims of medical negligence cannot sanitise their grief so that into a package that society will accept far more readily, They cannot wear their grief like a Scottish Widow's hooded cape. There is no glamorous way to dress up the depth of hurt and loss that they've experienced.

And the victims of medical negligence are far more than the immediate patient. The family whose feelings you've so easily dismissed are also significant victims of what has happened. There is a ripple effect from all such instances - medical negligence experiences are harrowing and enduring experiences for so many people.

It's unrealistic to expect people to focus on only the positive. You can appreciate the positive when you acknowledge the negative. It's only possible to be thankful for it not being cancer when you appreciate how bad it would have been had that not been the case. The OP, her family and friends had to not only face a cancer diagnosis, but deal with treatment, and ongoing management of those treatments, only to learn the aggressiveness of the approach may not have been necessary. She faced how bad things were going to be, and now it appears that may have all been unnecessarily.

When incidents of medical negligence occur, no medical professional rushes forth with the Giant Book of Open and Honest Disclosure. Often, no medical professional gives you full facts, or volunteers extra information. Often, no medical professional tells you they're sorry they made a mistake. Often, no medical professional tells you how they'll earn from the experience.
Instead, you ask questions that aren't answered. Often, medical professionals avoid meeting you. Often, medical professionals use medical language to try to disarm you as you ask your questions. Often medical professionals close ranks - they protect their own.

And so, your only course of action is to sue. You sue to get answers. You sue to have the harm done to you and your loved ones acknowledged. You sue so that lessons may be learned and it not happen to someone else. And through it all, you are presented by many as money-grabbing, taking from a cash-strapped service, self-interested, ungrateful for what you have, and possibly a liar.

Life is infinitely more precious than money. But suing is not always about the money. In the absence of honesty, integrity, transparency, suing buys access to facts, and most valuable of all, recognition of the harm done.

Ginger1982 · 16/06/2021 20:54

[quote blettedmedlar]@Pyewackect I've seen your vile comments on this an other threads. Your job and experiences do not seem to have given you any form of empathy, in fact I find your attitude quite chilling.

One of my best friends is a charge nurse and sounds to have had similar experiences to you during the past year working in Covid icu. The difference between his attitude and yours is phenomenal - he remains a caring, empathetic person, whereas you...

I would hate to be in a position where I was your patient. [/quote]
This. She's a moron.

Soontobe60 · 16/06/2021 20:57

@MoralityPondering

One of the surgeries was emergency surgery because of complications caused by the first one. I had to have a blood transfusion and could have died. The surgery was to remove the cancer. Except I didn't need it removing because it never was cancer.
What was it if not cancer?
Tacono1 · 16/06/2021 21:08

Thank you @ohbygolly for that excellent post.
It is so easy to say until it affects you or your family. It is not just a case of a bit of a mistake, move on.

MoralityPondering · 16/06/2021 21:11

@ohbygolly

Be thankful it wasnt,that you are alive,healthy and you are going to live life to its fullest now. Your family are thinking negatively,you don't need that,life is infinitely more precious than money. Have a fantastic future 🌈😊💐

I'm torn between thinking this is patronising drivel or just pure naivety.

This thread has shown the incredible void of understanding as to how awful dealing with incidents of medical negligence is for all the victims.

When things like this happen, there is a full cycle of grief. Grief for the life you had, grief for the life you won't have. You cry for so many reasons. You cry for your children, your family, your friends. You cry for yourself. You swing between so many emotions of relief, depression, gratitude, sadness, and incredible anger. Anger over what happened, anger at what was taken, anger that the future that was meant to be will never be. Pure, raw anger.

None of it is pretty. Ever. Victims of medical negligence cannot sanitise their grief so that into a package that society will accept far more readily, They cannot wear their grief like a Scottish Widow's hooded cape. There is no glamorous way to dress up the depth of hurt and loss that they've experienced.

And the victims of medical negligence are far more than the immediate patient. The family whose feelings you've so easily dismissed are also significant victims of what has happened. There is a ripple effect from all such instances - medical negligence experiences are harrowing and enduring experiences for so many people.

It's unrealistic to expect people to focus on only the positive. You can appreciate the positive when you acknowledge the negative. It's only possible to be thankful for it not being cancer when you appreciate how bad it would have been had that not been the case. The OP, her family and friends had to not only face a cancer diagnosis, but deal with treatment, and ongoing management of those treatments, only to learn the aggressiveness of the approach may not have been necessary. She faced how bad things were going to be, and now it appears that may have all been unnecessarily.

When incidents of medical negligence occur, no medical professional rushes forth with the Giant Book of Open and Honest Disclosure. Often, no medical professional gives you full facts, or volunteers extra information. Often, no medical professional tells you they're sorry they made a mistake. Often, no medical professional tells you how they'll earn from the experience.
Instead, you ask questions that aren't answered. Often, medical professionals avoid meeting you. Often, medical professionals use medical language to try to disarm you as you ask your questions. Often medical professionals close ranks - they protect their own.

And so, your only course of action is to sue. You sue to get answers. You sue to have the harm done to you and your loved ones acknowledged. You sue so that lessons may be learned and it not happen to someone else. And through it all, you are presented by many as money-grabbing, taking from a cash-strapped service, self-interested, ungrateful for what you have, and possibly a liar.

Life is infinitely more precious than money. But suing is not always about the money. In the absence of honesty, integrity, transparency, suing buys access to facts, and most valuable of all, recognition of the harm done.

Thank you. I'm crying reading your post. That's exactly it.
OP posts:
mrwalkensir · 16/06/2021 21:18

Apologies OP. I haven't read the full post. I had chording. To my surprise it disappeared after a few months of going to the gym. Hope this might work for you too (was just doing weights and stretching - nothing "specific").

roobicoobi · 16/06/2021 21:20

@ohbygolly

Perfect post.

Saz12 · 16/06/2021 21:20

I had a surgery under vaguely similar circumstances, nothing like as invasive as yours, OP.
It was very bizarre to discover there was no cancer, after weeks of fear. It has left me with a different attitude to healthcare, mortality, etc. Afterwards I met with the consultant who was absolutely amazing: I hope you do get the information you need to help you move on.

Goes without saying that the relief was profound, and of course I’m hugely grateful for the outcome I had in the end.

GhoulWithADragonTattoo · 16/06/2021 21:22

I really think you speak to a medical negligence lawyer for advice on how to tackle this. Do you have legal cover on any of your insurance policies / though your union membership that could be a good starting point. I’m so sorry this has happened to you. Flowers

glasgowLil · 16/06/2021 21:26

Hi Op - I haven’t read the whole thread but I would sue. I had er positive breast cancer 8 years ago and had a mastectomy and lymph gland clearance but if I’d been told like you that actually they didn’t need to do the op because I didn’t have cancer I would have been furious. Not only have you been put through all the pain and discomfort of surgery but you’ve also had all the terror of a cancer diagnosis. You need to sue or at least make a formal complaint to make sure they never make the same mistake again! Hugs xx

GnusSitOnCanoes · 16/06/2021 21:34

@MoralityPondering I just want to say that what happened to you was awful. There is NOTHING wrong with how you feel - you have been through hell and I’m so sorry. I completely understand how you need answers and a clear understanding of how this happened to even begin tackling your trauma and grief. Quite honestly, fuck the Pollyanna posters telling you to be grateful: you are entitled to feel as you do. Please be kind to yourself and I hope you get all the help you need to ensure you and your family can put this behind you. Flowers

MarianneUnfaithful · 16/06/2021 21:36

life is infinitely more precious than money

You shouldn’t have to lose a non cancerous breast to experience that little epiphany.

Would you be happy to lose a breast and live with pain and restricted movement as the joyful alternative to something that was never a threat in the first place. ?

ThursdayWeld · 16/06/2021 21:39

There is nothing wrong with you to feel like this. Your life has been ripped apart, a massive thing happened to you and your loved ones, and then it all changed again...

I would be calling specialists solicitors. You are the victim here, you don't need to "get over it", you need justice.