Woman misdiagnosed with IBS 'devastated' after terminal cancer diagnosis
A woman who received a misdiagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) was given a terminal cancer diagnosis just months later.
Claire O'Shea, from Cardiff, had felt a lump in her abdomen when she went to her GP to seek a diagnosis.
While "not being convinced" by the GP's verdict, it was a massage while on holiday in Istanbul that "set alarm bells ringing".
"The masseuse felt the lump and asked me if I was pregnant," she told Sky News.
Ms O'Shea rang her medical surgery again and this time asked to speak to a female GP.
"I was referred to the hospital within four days of seeing her," she said.
After an ultrasound, hospital staff told her it was a "benign lesion", but Ms O'Shea asked to have surgery and was put on a waiting list for "about eight months".
"Obviously, in that time, it was cancerous, it wasn't benign," she added.
"So it had kind of been left in me, growing and getting into my blood system potentially."
When she received the diagnosis, Ms O'Shea was "devastated".
"I knew that the only kind of cancer it would be is this cancer called myosarcoma, which is really aggressive and quite rare," she said.
"I felt like I'd been given literally a death sentence on that day."
She had the "life-changing surgery" 10 days later.
"It was a full hysterectomy and I was only 40," Ms O'Shea added.
"So it took having children and everything off the table and I had to make that decision rapidly."
A scan revealed the cancer had spread.
"Then they did a full body scan and realised that it had gone to my liver, my lungs, and it was in my bone and my sacrum bone as well," she said.
"So from a stage one diagnosis in the December to a stage four terminal diagnosis in the April/May basically."
'Failing women'
Ms O'Shea wonders if things could have been different had she been sent to the hospital straight away.
"If I hadn't waited eight months on a waiting list, I'd probably be stage one because it wouldn't have had the chance to spread," she said.
To help other women who have had similar experiences, Ms O'Shea is calling for leadership.
"I'm sure every medical professional I came across would have wanted to do a better job, but they haven't had the training they need, they haven't got the resources they need, they haven't got the time," she said.
"There's clearly a failing for women and I think it's about the way women are listened to."
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A Senedd committee has made a total of 26 recommendations for the Welsh government in a report on gynaecological cancer care in Wales.
As part of its report, the committee is calling on the Welsh government to fund "frequent and far-reaching public awareness campaigns" as well as "better support for GPs".
The Welsh government said in response to Ms O'Shea's story that it is "vital women's concerns are heard and taken seriously".
"The experiences of the women in the report will help us to improve services," a spokesperson said.
"Cancer is one of the six planning priorities for the NHS, and we are committed to improving cancer outcomes.
"We have introduced targeted support for gynaecological cancer services and are providing GPs with supportive tools for referral of suspected cancer."
The committee's report and the government's response are due to be debated in the Welsh parliament in the New Year.
