Sep 09
28
14 Patients Errantly Told Breast Cancer Free
This is every woman’s worst nightmare, and it’s actually happening to 14 or perhaps more, women in Britain who were mistakenly told that they were breast cancer free when in fact the technician who read their scans read them incorrectly. Many other records are being poured over as well to make sure there are not more women who were mistakenly told that they did not have breast cancer when they really did, and of course this is a huge botched job by the hospital, which is in Britain.
The hospital has been very apologetic about the mix up, but those that are really angry are questioning why the hospital did not come forward sooner admitting the fact that there could be patients who have a false sense of security in that they do not have breast cancer when in fact they might, instead going over records and getting all victims names first. Of course, this could have added potential time onto their correct and proper treatment so that they didn’t go on with the cancer for a longer period of time.
While the hospital acknowledges that this screwup could have potentially cost some women their lives as it cost them precious time in early intervention and therapy, it says that it believes it is still early enough to successfully treat those women affected, and hopes for them all to survive still. Of course, this opens them up for huge lawsuits, there’s just no way around that at this point, and they are actually admitting a mistake, which is the right thing to do.
They are also refusing to name the technician that messed up, which is further angering those that have been impacted, but they may actually have their reasons so that there is no attempt on that person’s well being out of anger from the victims. Who knows, this stuff always gets sticky.
I’d be extremely angry if it were me who was affected since this does put off early treatment, but I’d also like to think I’d remember that the health professionals who take care of us are also human, and there are bound to be errors made. Some errors are worse than others, and it depends on how the institution and the individual handles the errors that determines their trustworthiness.
