Delay in diagnosis of oesophageal cancer leads to death
In February 2009 our client started to feel very unwell, and was unable to eat and drink without vomiting. Within a matter of weeks her weight had dramatically dropped and she was extremely weak. She was referred to Kings College Hospital to be seen by a gastroenterologist. The physician conducted an ultrasound and CT scan and advised that he could not locate the source of the problem and prescribed pain medication.
Our client continued to lose weight and was extremely weak. The doctors thought that her problems were psychological but she was still complaining of abdominal pain. In May 2009 she had another appointment with the gastroenterologist but no diagnosis for her condition was made. A further appointment was made to see the gastroenterologist in August 2009.
By October 2009 there was continued decline in her condition and she was referred to Guys Hospital for a second opinion. On 22 October 2009 our client had an endoscopy at Guys Hospital. It was impossible to get the endoscopy tube through her throat. Our client had a 29cm long tumour in her oesophagus. She was told that the tumour would have been present for some time and certainly in August 2009.
Our client was diagnosed with advanced and aggressive oesophageal cancer. She underwent chemotherapy but was physically too weak to endure a substantial amount, she was unable to feed/drink herself and had a stent put in. She had been unwell for some time and she eventually passed away in July 2010.
Whilst there was a significant delay in diagnosis of the tumour an earlier diagnosis in May would not have saved her life.
We were able to obtain £10,000 for our client’s estate.