"GP wrongly told my mum she had terminal cancer"

My family went through a living hell last year when my mum was told by her GP  that she had lung cancer. I spoke to the doctor and she said it was terminal. My mum was given an appointment at Hospital three weeks later. We were distraught during this time and had even started to think about funeral arrangements.

At that appointment my sister and I along with my mum expected to be given options for treatment. But the doctor we saw just said the scan showed up nodules that needed to be investigated. We would have to wait three months to see if they grew in size. We were dumbfounded as the word cancer never even came up in the conversation. The doctor at the hospital then pressed about what the GP had said  and was reluctant to confirm the original diagnosis.

So for the next three months was a roller-coaster of emotions, tears. sadness and a period of mourning. We assumed the worst was to come given what the GP had said. However when the follow-up appointment came around...we were told the nodules had shrunk. We were overjoyed and shocked at the same time. Our prayers had been answered. But we questioned why we were given a heart-breaking diagnosis in the first place? Did someone mess up?

The hospital did not want to lambaste the GP. The GP has never contacted us to apologise about the previous confusion. In fact when my mother went back to see the same GP she never even mentioned their previous diagnosis. In our opinion this is disgraceful. We have never been given any answers to this day. I read my mum's scan reports and yes the first made references to metastatic disease being highly probable.

This misdiagnosis and poor communication from the GP and Hospital in my opinion failed my mother and my family. Someone should be held responsible and be accountable for such errors. This is not the level of care I would expect from the NHS. Yes I am so happy that my mum is here and doing well.  It feels like our pain could have been avoided if individuals who dealt with my mum did their job right. I will never get over the trauma inflicted on my family. I hope someone listens to my story and addresses the wrongs. 

Team work