Doctors miss man's cancer
The family of a man who died from cancer have vowed to take legal action against the hospital and doctors who failed to diagnose his condition for four years.
Miles Woodgate, 26, suffered increasingly severe stomach pains and weight loss. But despite telling doctors he believed he had a serious illness, it was only last month that cancer was diagnosed.
On April 19, three days after being given the shattering news - and on the day of his first oncology appointment - he collapsed and died.
Yesterday, Mr Woodgate's family described the pain he endured - and the catalogue of errors as he was seen by five doctors and two specialists.
The courier driver, from Crawley, West Sussex, first went to see his doctor in December 1999 with stomach pains. Tests failed to reveal anything until, in August 2002, he was told he might be suffering from a hernia.
'Even after that, things went wrong,' his sister Gervaise said. 'He waited weeks for blood tests and on two occasions the hospital lost the results.'
By last summer, Mr Woodgate was in constant pain. In October, he was given an X-ray at Crawley Hospital. He asked for the more advanced CT scan, but was refused until last month. They found tumours all around his body,' Miss Woodgate added.
Mr Woodgate's mother Pauline, 57, said: 'I want answers now. We feel there was a lack of treatment and willingness to properly investigate.'
Ken Cunningham, chief executive of Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust, said: 'We would like to reassure the family that we take these matters very seriously and we will ensure we provide a full response.'
