Graham Lord's hospital horror after being misdiagnosed with aggressive stomach cancer

By Rosie Squires, The Sunday Telegraph
News.com.au
Nov. 12, 2011

Someone I know just found out they were misdiagnosed years ago with having acid reflux, turns out it was an ulcer and now they're being treated. It's essential to go to different doctors and get multiple independent diagnoses, doctors are not infallible and the system we have now seems to be heavily weighted towards "one doctor, one diagnosis." - Chris, InfoLibGOSFORD dad Graham Lord prepared himself for the worst when he was told he had an aggressive stomach cancer.

But the 59-year-old was determined to fight it. He endured seven gruelling sessions of chemotherapy, before undergoing surgery to remove 80 per cent of his gut.

Then he was given the devastating news: he never had cancer in the first place.

An alleged bungle at a pathology lab at Gosford Hospital led to his misdiagnosis and Mr Lord is now suing the Central Coast Local Health District. He has shed 20kg. He can't eat sitting down. And he suffers anxiety and depression.

"They told me I had cancer. I went through chemotherapy and they cut out my stomach," Mr Lord told The Sunday Telegraph.

Six weeks after his operation, according to a statement of claim lodged in the Supreme Court, doctors at Royal North Shore, where he had the surgery, told Mr Lord the initial diagnosis was wrong.

"After independent pathological review the biopsies taken during the gastroscopy, the biopsy findings were wrong in that there was never any evidence of malignancy," the claim says.

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