Man’s stomach removed after misdiagnosis
A man from Australia is suing his local health district after being allegedly misdiagnosed with stomach cancer.
An Australian man is suing his local health district after an alleged cancer misdiagnosis led to rounds of chemotherapy and a surgery that removed 80 percent of his stomach, according to ABC Sydney.
Graham Lord, 59, was diagnosed with an aggressive stomach cancer in 2009 by a pathology lab at Gosford Hospital.
Lord went through seven sessions of chemotherapy and a surgery on his stomach before he was told he never had cancer in the first place, Huffington Post reported. His suit is aimed at Australia’s Central Coast Local Health District.
"I was told that the tissue taken from me during that gastrectomy was examined through the pathology department at Royal North Shore [Hospital] and the lymph nodes that were taken out showed no evidence of cancer," he told the Sunday Telegraph. A second test confirmed the results.
Lord said he is still very angry and has been psychologically affected by the news.
“I am not over what has happened; I don’t know if I ever will. I still have the dreams about it and wake up in a sweat about it,” he said.
His lawyer, Anna Walsh, said Lord is seeking an apology and monetary compensation from the health district, according to ABC Sydney.
The Central Coast Health District has declined to comment and has not filed a defense. But Walsh told the Sunday Telegraph that a pathologist at Lord’s hospital has apologized.
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