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In Nov 2022 my wife was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer 3 weeks after giving birth to our second child and after a horrible pregnancy.
Took this to a no win no fee solicitor who started investigating in Jan 2024. One report from a consultants obs in December 24 and another from an consultant neuro.
The OBS said there was a breach. Delays and so on. Neuro said there wasn't and even if there was, scan delays wouldn't have made a difference to diagnosis. Solicitor is now saying they are unlikely to pursue this.
It's quite baffling to me. We raised the issue of heads in April 2022. She was on paracetamol originally but by June she as on cocodamol around the clock. The neurologist said it was in her head and she needs to come off it as it's lowering her pain threshold.
We went to triage many times who said they can't do anything. We went a&e per the advice of the neuro and was rejected despite long waits in her condition.
By July she was immobile and bed bound, using a wheelchair when we went for appointments.
It was only in august they finally did an MRI. Originally the neuro said the MRI was fine but then it was reviewed proeprly and said it looks suspicious. A letter from him to colleagues advised an urgent rescan with contrast but this wasn't done until after the birth in mid October, and only because after her birth she started losing vision dramatically and so we went Moorefields who then pushed our hospital.
Back to august, I made complaints about the delays and pain my wife is in while no one is doing anything. I even said I would not have kids again because of this. The complaint went ignored.
Day after giving birth she had an x-ray which the doctors said was clear but actually it wasn't and the hospital gave a report admitting this error.
Anyways, eventually this led to the dreaded cancer diagnosis.
I tried to push a few reasons:
1) had they did the rescan as the neuro suggested to his colleagues, mets to the brain would have been much less. My wife had to have whole brain radiotherapy due to the extensive spread but had it been picked up earlier, she might have been able to have targeted therapy with much less side effects. The long term side effects are well known of wbrt.
2) there's no way they could have prevented advanced cancer. But her duty of care and treatment. Constant gaslighting, telling her it's in her head, no real concern about her taking cocodamol around the clock, no concern that she is in a wheelchair. This could have been a smoother or more manageable journey at least.
3) We're affected not just by the cancer diagnosis but the treatment. The hospital which is local to us, we transferred out and attend a much further hospital due to trauma at the first. I've lost 3 jobs since.
Maybe the process is fair and I'm looking for someone to blame or want someone to pay, I dunno. It'll be hard to argue against consultants.
But the OBS consultant was in favour of our claim. The neuro couldnt comment on any oncology aspects of this which I think is quite important.
If anyone has any experience in these matters I'd be very grateful to be put sane.
Took this to a no win no fee solicitor who started investigating in Jan 2024. One report from a consultants obs in December 24 and another from an consultant neuro.
The OBS said there was a breach. Delays and so on. Neuro said there wasn't and even if there was, scan delays wouldn't have made a difference to diagnosis. Solicitor is now saying they are unlikely to pursue this.
It's quite baffling to me. We raised the issue of heads in April 2022. She was on paracetamol originally but by June she as on cocodamol around the clock. The neurologist said it was in her head and she needs to come off it as it's lowering her pain threshold.
We went to triage many times who said they can't do anything. We went a&e per the advice of the neuro and was rejected despite long waits in her condition.
By July she was immobile and bed bound, using a wheelchair when we went for appointments.
It was only in august they finally did an MRI. Originally the neuro said the MRI was fine but then it was reviewed proeprly and said it looks suspicious. A letter from him to colleagues advised an urgent rescan with contrast but this wasn't done until after the birth in mid October, and only because after her birth she started losing vision dramatically and so we went Moorefields who then pushed our hospital.
Back to august, I made complaints about the delays and pain my wife is in while no one is doing anything. I even said I would not have kids again because of this. The complaint went ignored.
Day after giving birth she had an x-ray which the doctors said was clear but actually it wasn't and the hospital gave a report admitting this error.
Anyways, eventually this led to the dreaded cancer diagnosis.
I tried to push a few reasons:
1) had they did the rescan as the neuro suggested to his colleagues, mets to the brain would have been much less. My wife had to have whole brain radiotherapy due to the extensive spread but had it been picked up earlier, she might have been able to have targeted therapy with much less side effects. The long term side effects are well known of wbrt.
2) there's no way they could have prevented advanced cancer. But her duty of care and treatment. Constant gaslighting, telling her it's in her head, no real concern about her taking cocodamol around the clock, no concern that she is in a wheelchair. This could have been a smoother or more manageable journey at least.
3) We're affected not just by the cancer diagnosis but the treatment. The hospital which is local to us, we transferred out and attend a much further hospital due to trauma at the first. I've lost 3 jobs since.
Maybe the process is fair and I'm looking for someone to blame or want someone to pay, I dunno. It'll be hard to argue against consultants.
But the OBS consultant was in favour of our claim. The neuro couldnt comment on any oncology aspects of this which I think is quite important.
If anyone has any experience in these matters I'd be very grateful to be put sane.
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