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A gynecologist maintained for two years that the tumor that the woman had was benign, without doing the necessary tests to detect its severity
“It was an ordeal & rdquor ;, he remembers Joan F. His wife, Anna, passed away in 2019, aged 40, from breast cancer that doctors diagnosed when it was too late. A negligence explicitly recognized by the insurance company SHAM, in charge of the civil responsibility of CatSalut, that, following an out-of-court settlement, it has compensated the patient’s husband, Joan, and her five-year-old son, with 250,000 euros, as well as Anna’s sister, with another 15,000 euros, according to the documentation she has had access EL PERIÓDICO. A judge of first instance of Barcelona endorsed this pact. The company has agreed to pay that amount to prevent the case from going to trial.
Anna’s fatal odyssey began in February 2016, when Anna was referred by her GP for a gynecological consultation, given that the patient had felt a lump in the area of the breast. After the examination, the gynecologist requested an ultrasound of what, according to him, was a “benign tumor”. The test certifies the existence of the tumor. “They told us that the lump was a product that had been formed by milk, since my wife was breastfeeding our son & rdquor ;, says Joan. “They didn’t do any puncture, or a mammogram; the protocol was not followed. If my wife had had these tests done, everything would have been different anyway & rdquor;, he insists.
After two years, in January 2018, the woman returns to the gynecologist who had visited her. The physician notes that the tumor is “equal & rdquor; and requests another ultrasound. However, after three months, even without having done this test, the patient goes to the medical center when she notices that the nodule had grown, according to the lawsuit signed by the lawyer José Aznar Cortijo, from Verdún Legal. Her gynecologist then asks the Hospital de Vic, where the patient lived, a surgical intervention to assess whether she should remove the nodule, although, according to the lawsuit, he continues to insist that it was a “benign tumor”. It is July 17, 2018 when, in the end, he is diagnosed with “metastatic carcinoma”. The surgeon commented: “Do you know what you have here? It’s cancer & rdquor;, says Anna’s husband. “Let’s fight hard, but the trouble was the two years until the real diagnosis was made,” he insists.
Chemotherapy without result
From that date, everything went fast. After three cycles of chemotherapy, the doctors recommended mastectomy and emptying of the armpit. In January 2019, a woman underwent surgery. Despite this, the cancer continued to advance and metastasis appeared. In March, Anna was admitted to the emergency room at Vic Hospital with nausea, vomiting, anorexia and weight loss. Treatment does not work and the woman dies on March 11.
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The events are the consequence of “a defect in the treatment assistance & rdquor; of that lump in the Gynecology department of the CAP Nord de Vic, according to the lawyer for the family of the deceased. Due to the delay in diagnosis, he points out, and the “inadequate treatment”, the tumor had already produced the metastasis to other organs and ended up causing the death of the patient. In her opinion, medical negligence is a direct cause of the gynecologist who attended her at first, who “did not follow the established protocol & rdquor ;, nor did he perform certain tests, such as the puncture and mammography. In the opinion of the lawyer José Aznar, “it is necessary and essential to review the medical action protocols for cases like the one at hand and refer the patient to a specialized center, performing the diagnostic tests in the time allowed to avoid repairable damages & rdquor ;.
Joan F. has had the help of friends and family throughout this time, she says. They have been his support during these sad months. Suddenly he found himself widowed (he does not receive pension because he was an unregistered domestic partner) and with a small child in his care. “We had to wake up & rdquor;” he argues. “What we want is that what has happened to us does not happen to anyone else & rdquor ;, sentence.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com