The family of a woman who died after a hospital missed her breast cancer today won a £50,000 payout after refusing to let her “go quietly to her grave”.
Mary Myers, a librarian, attended King George Hospital in Ilford in October 2008 after finding a lump in her breast. But the poor-quality mammogram led doctors to believe the cysts were benign and they discharged her, despite a family history of breast cancer.
She returned two months later when attempts to take a biopsy were unsuccessful. She declined surgery and was again discharged — but returned again just over two years later with a “sizable swelling” in her breast and pain in her arm and back. An inflammatory carcinoma was found in her breast and had spread to her spine. She died 17 months later in May 2012, aged 46.
Her parents, from Ilford, have secured an out-of-court settlement for failures in her care. Ms Myers was unmarried and had no children so the money will go to the nephew she never got to meet — Gabriel Myers, now aged two.
In a statement released through solicitors Ashton KCJ, her family said: “This settlement has meant that Mary did not go quietly to her grave. She wanted so much to live and was looking forward to becoming an aunty for the first time.”
Jason Seez, director of planning and governance at Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust, which runs King George Hospital, said: “Our thoughts are with Ms Myers’ family.”
He added: “The legal proceedings have now been resolved.”
