Sarah Boyles was 28 when she noticed her toddler son got upset when he tried to suckle one of her breasts. Biopsy results showed Sarah had an aggressive form of breast cancer that required immediate and significant treatment.
Within months, she had her breasts removed, reconstructed with implants and undergoing chemotherapy and all of its horrific side effects, according to The Telegraph.
After going through all these steps, the hospital called her to tell her that human error had led to inaccurate biopsy results, as she said on the This Morning show. This young mother realized that she and her family had suffered severe emotional stress, enduring unnecessary physical pain and changes to her body as a result of human error.
“To be told I had cancer was horrible, but to go through all the treatment and surgery only to be told it wasn’t necessary was nerve-wracking,” Sarah told the Telegraph.
“Although I was thrilled when I gave birth to Louis, it was really sad that I couldn’t breastfeed him,” she said. More so, the fact that she had breast implants, she said, increased her chances of getting a legitimate diagnosis of breast cancer in the future.
The hospital acknowledged its error and accepted its responsibility. He also said he had changed his policies so that multiple pathologists must review test results and agree on a diagnosis rather than leaving the diagnosis to a single individual, according to The Telegraph.
Now a mother-of-two is urging hospitals to adopt new artificial intelligence technology that can be used at the diagnostic stage, reducing the risk of false negatives appearing.
“Misdiagnosis of cancer can ruin people’s lives and some people may not be so lucky to survive,” Boyle told the Daily Mail earlier this year. “It’s critical to raise awareness of the consequences families can face from making mistakes.”
“Anything that helps reduce the number of people being misdiagnosed or allows others to receive treatment more quickly should be welcome,” she added.
