Daughter demands answers after tumour missed by doctors

Jane Foster’s mother Patricia Sebine, 76, of Leeds, died two weeks after doctors at St James’ Hospital discovered the tumour and an emergency operation to remove was unsuccessful.

She has now instructed solicitor’s to “demand answers” from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, claiming doctors missed “clear symptoms” and evidence on a CT scan three months before she was hospitalised in April last year.

Medical negligence specialists Neil Hudgell Solicitors, who are working for Ms Foster, said the hospital has since acknowledged missing possible danger signs on the scan three months earlier, saying a “very subtle lesion” had been present, but said it would have been a difficult diagnosis to make at the time.

Ms Foster claims doctors were dismissive of her mother’s concerns, and the potential seriousness of the situation, given she had previously overcome bowel cancer after treatment in 1994.

In the eight months prior to Mrs Sebine’s death she suffered from continued pain, sickness and diarrhoea, shedding weight due to a loss of appetite.

“My mum was massively let down by the NHS. I knew she was seriously ill but nobody in the NHS would listen to me,” said Ms Foster. “Whatever happens, I believe that my mum was not given the best chance of beating the condition she had and I hope that, with the support of my solicitors, I can get the closure I so desperately need.”

Solicitor Tamsin White said: “This is a very tragic case and one in which Ms Foster struggles to understand how doctors can have identified a suspicious growth on the initial CT scan but then failed to investigate further and rule out something more serious.”

A Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust spokesman passed “sincere condolences” to Ms Foster, and said that it would be inappropriate to comment further.