BLOG: Rachel Donvan on the scandal of late breast cancer diagnosis

By Ben Schofield on Dec 14, 09 05:23 PM

I READ last week in the Daily Post that scores of Liverpool women are dying needlessly from breast cancer every year because their condition is diagnosed too late.

The city was found to have one of the worst survival rates anywhere in England, with almost 7% of women dead within one year of being told they have the condition.

Health experts believe the high death rate is explained by a failure to diagnose the cancer early enough.

These failings were identified in a new report by the UK's cancer "tsar" who also contributed to Liverpool being given a "red light" for its high overall rates of cancer death.

This report was compiled by the Care quality Commission and I understand they are there to alert the primary care trusts to the problems, but the trusts will face no punishment for their failings which I believe does not seem right.

Professor Mike Richards who was appointed as the first National cancer director at the Department of Health said Liverpool's performance was "unacceptable".

He added: "These delays in patients presenting with symptoms and cancer being diagnosed at a late stage inevitably cost lives. The situation is unacceptable."

Professor Richards went on to state that many people were "pretty poor" at recognising symptoms, but also criticised GPs who needed to "play safe" and refer more patients to hospital.

As a medical negligence lawyer in the city I have vast experience of cases involving delay in diagnosing cancer and in particular breast cancer.

I do believe the people of Liverpool are better than ever at recognising symptoms relating to cancer but once the symptoms are recognised, our lives are then in the hands of the professionals which includes the doctors, pathologists, oncologists and the radiologists.

From my experience this is when the delay in diagnosing cancer starts. I have dealt with several claims against Liverpool Trusts involving:

Misinterpreting biopsy slides
Misinterpreting CT/MRI imaging
Reassuring clients that symptoms do not relate to cancer and therefore not doing any diagnostic testing
Filing results away without informing the patient he/she has cancer
Failing to do any chemotherapy/radiotherapy to prevent spread
Failing to detect family history of cancer

In my experience this is where I believe the delay in diagnosing cancer in the city is caused and in the main it is due to patients slipping through the screening net at the hospital stage.

I always hope that on conclusion of a case LESSONS WILL BE LEARNT but reading this article and speaking to new clients on a daily basis maybe not.