- Luisa Guerra, 35, had her cancer diagnosed as stress and early menopause
- The young mother died in February this year six years after first symptoms
- Her family believe that doctors in Rochester, Kent could have saved her lifeÂ
- Luisa was so desperate she paid for a private scan, which found tumoursÂ
Martin Robinson for MailOnline
147
View
comments
A young mother died of cervical cancer despite being seen by doctors fifty times in six years, her family claimed today.
Luisa Guerra, 35, from Kent, was so desperate for answers she paid for a private scan and then found out tumours had spread throughout her body.
Her sister says she first visited her local GP complaining of back pain but was sent home and told to take paracetamol.
The pain failed to go and she continued to visit the surgery over the course of three years but it was not diagnosed and blamed on ‘stress’ and early menopause, her family has claimed.
Tragedy: The family of young mother Luisa Guerra claim that she was seen 50 times by doctors who failed to properly diagnose the cervical cancer that killed her
It was only when she paid for a private scan that the real reason for her deteriorating health became clear – she had tumours in her cervix, lymph nodes, back and neck.
She was finally diagnosed with cervical cancer but it was too late and, despite chemotherapy, the mother-of-two died aged 35.
An official complaint has now been made and will be investigated by the local NHS Trust on October 27.
Luisa’s sister Diana, 22, claims she ‘could have been saved’ if doctors had acted quicker.
-
Dying patients could be given untested drugs: New law could…
First pictures of Ashya OUT of hospital: Cancer boy whose…
Diana said: ‘I am devastated that I lost my sister. Knowing that she would still be here today if doctors had taken her seriously makes me very angry.
‘They had more than 50 opportunities over six years to help her, but they never did. She was so young.’
Interior designer Luisa was just 29 when she started suffering from back pain, headaches and irregular bleeding.
Over the course of three years she visited her local doctors at City Way Surgery, in Rochester, Kent, but was diagnosed with early menopause and stress.
Her family say she was never offered a smear test by medics, despite all women over 25 being entitled to one on the NHS.
Claims: Luisa’s family say doctors at City Way Surgery, in Rochester, Kent, diagnosed her with early menopause and stress during her initial cancer and then relapse
In 2010 Luisa, then aged 31, paid £300 for a consultation at a private clinic where she was immediately diagnosed with cervical cancer.
In June 2011 she started a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and by December was given the all clear.
But she was forced to return to City Way Surgery when her back pain began again.
Her family claim the same GPs again dismissed her symptoms and prescribed her morphine for the pain.
By the time she underwent a scan ten months later she was told she had a tumour the size of a tennis ball in her lymph nodes, as well as cancer in her neck and bowel.
This time there was nothing doctors could do, and Luisa died in February this year.
It is also alleged that Luisa’s aunt Teresa Paiva, 43, visited the same surgery in January 2013 complaining of stomach pains and was simply told to ‘take vitamins’.
She claims the mum of two begged doctors to help her for six months before she was diagnosed with gall stones and had an operation to remove them.
But Teresa’s symptoms did not ease and more than a year after her first visit to the GP she found a lump in her breast.
Feeling let down by her local health service she flew out to Portugal, where she was born, and paid for private screening.
She was diagnosed with stage 3B breast cancer and is now being treated in Portugal.
Diana said: ‘Not only did I lose my best friend and sister at such a young age because of someone else’s negligence, but now the same thing appears to be happening again.
‘I believe my sister and auntie didn’t get the correct care because it’s too expensive to send patients for MRIs and CT scans.
‘I will fight with everything I have to get justice for my girls.’
Luisa’s family met bosses at the City Way Surgery to express their concerns but were told to put their complaints in writing.
NHS England, Kent and Medway, said ‘We are sorry to learn of this very sad case. If NHS England receives a complaint of this nature we will always follow it up appropriately.’
-
Shocking moment homophobic racist man is wrestled to ground
-
Sign interpreter performs animatedly during Ebola conference
-
Russian grave-robber who dug up the graves of 150 little…
-
Horrifying video shows locals indifference to severed heads
-
Washington High School shooter Jaylen Fryberg chanting
-
Think fast! Intense moment kayaker saves drowning man’s life
-
The 19-month-old beauty queen diva, Baby Beyonce (related)
-
Puppy attempts to pull off girls bikini top
-
Student opens fire at a Washington state high school
-
The 19-month-old beauty queen diva, Baby Beyonce
-
Jaylen Fryberg is made homecoming prince days before…
-
SnoopWall’s privacy flashlight app protects your information
-
Quadcopter drone ‘deliberately flown at passenger airliner’…
-
Another schoolgirl dies in hospital from gunshot wounds…
-
Satisfying moment homophobic bully is taken down by…
-
EXCLUSIVE – ‘He’s a snake who shut me out of my child’s…
-
‘You’re no longer my brother’: How school love triangle…
-
Where are the parents? Police who found one-year-old boy…
-
Revealed: How Jackie O’s nude beach photos that caused…
-
Japanese violin teacher whose method has been used by…
-
Free apps used to spy on millions of phones: Flashlight…
-
Wrong answer! Cleveland Brown’s wide receiver Andrew Hawkins…
-
‘I was treated like a criminal’: Nurse returning from West…
-
80s Brat Pack star Judd Nelson forced to deny that he’s dead…
Find out now