Patient’s NHS fury at ‘late’ cancer discovery

Mike Kirby, 73, repeatedly saw GPs and hospital doctors for a range of worrying symptoms.

But it was only when he paid for a private consultation that it was discovered he had an aggressive tumour in his colon and the cancer had spread to his lungs and liver.

The antique gun specialist said he believed he would have survived longer had his symptoms been fully investigated earlier.

His desperate plight comes amid national concerns over late diagnosis of cancer, triggering controversial plans from Ministers to “name and shame” GPs with low referral rates for patients with suspicious symptoms.

Mr Kirby, of North Rigton, near Harrogate, said he was particularly angry about his treatment last September when he was urgently referred for checks at Harrogate District Hospital over concerns he had prostate cancer.

During what should have been a routine internal investigation by a doctor in clinic, he suffered a fissure which led to his collapse several days later at a shoot in Wensleydale. He believes the incident compromised his immune system, leaving him “a wreck”.

Following months of illness, he insisted in June on a private referral to see a specialist at Harrogate’s hospital. Scans revealed the horrifying extent of his cancer.

He was told the illness was too advanced for surgery and because of his debilitated condition, he could not be given chemotherapy to prolong his life.

“Because of the delays, I’ve got weaker and weaker,” he said.

“I had to fork out my own money in the end to find out what was wrong with me. I found out far too late. If I had had the scan in the early days when I first had the symptoms I might be looking forward to more life.”

Mr Kirby said he was left in excruciating pain after his initial appointment in Harrogate and in January had a private consultation in Leeds where he was told he had developed an abscess.

Several weeks later, he returned to his GP surgery in Harrogate complaining of “incredible fatigue” and other symptoms.

“It was like walking through water up to my knees,” he said.

He says he had more than 10 GP consultations between January and May but blood tests failed to reveal any problems.

He was given an X-ray in March over persistent problems with pins and needles amid suspicions he had a trapped nerve and in April was told he had irritable bowel syndrome after he visited the out-of-hours GP service. Later that month he was rushed to A&E in Harrogate after he awoke one night suffering from a torrential nose bleed.

In May, he underwent hospital tests after again being taken to A&E at Harrogate but was told he had an infection in his colon. But he remained furious about his initial treatment.

“This should never have happened,” he said. “I wish I’d never been to that hospital and seen that doctor, as I’d never have been as bad as I am now. It’s a horrible situation - it obviously couldn’t be any worse.”

He said he had been “absolutely super fit”, travelling with his dogs to Fewston and Swinsty near his North Yorkshire home for four-mile runs five days a week.

“Now I can hardly walk,” he said. “I had a lovely life. I could look out of my window at the field next door but now I couldn’t even cross it. I’m a prisoner in my own house. My business has gone, my animals have gone and now my life’s going.”