A terminally ill cancer patient has spoken out about how, despite 19 visits to her doctor and local hospital, doctors failed to diagnose that she was suffering with a severe form of pancreatic cancer.
It wasn’t until Julia Rogers, from Devon, paid £600 for a private scan that she was told she had inoperable pancreatic cancer.
NHS England has issued an apology to Ms Rogers, launching an inquiry into how doctors had failed to diagnose her condition. The body said “any lessons would be put into practice without delay”.
Ms Rogers visited her GP in September last year, suffering with severe back pain which had spread to her abdomen.
Blood tests were carried out by her doctor and she was sent for an ultrasound at Totnes Community Hospital, but Ms Rogers said nothing unusual was seen on the scan. However, she said her pancreas was not in full view at the time because there was “excessive bowel gas” and she was not given a repeat test.
After the test she continued experiencing severe pain and went on to visit her doctor a further 17 times. She also visited the accident and emergency department at Torbay Hospital twice but on one occasion was sent home with painkillers.
“I still knew something was very wrong,” Ms Rogers said.
“I could not get any of the doctors to take me seriously. Urgency was totally lacking.
“I’ve been let down and I’m devastated.”
She was referred to a gastroenterologist and had an appointment booked but decided that she could not wait several weeks longer and booked herself in for a scan at a private hospital in Bristol, costing £600. She was told on 11th June this year that she was suffering with “inoperable advanced pancreatic cancer.”
Fiona Hedges, a Medical Negligence Solicitor at Mercury Online, said “My deepest sympathy goes out to Ms Rogers and her family for a tragic outcome that could have been avoided.
“This is a shocking case that was only uncovered due to Ms Rogers taking it upon herself to look into her symptoms further. She visited the doctor on 19 separate occasions but was not offered any conclusions when any signs of this awful disease should have been picked up in the very first stages.
“A thorough investigation must be launched into this case and how it happened to ensure that future patients are not needlessly treated in the same way.”