Beverley woman's 'anger' after being treated for skin cancer following misdiagnosis

A woman has spoken of her "complete shock" after discovering she had been treated for a cancer that never existed following a misdiagnosis.

Megan Royle, who lives in Beverley, East Yorkshire, spent two years believing she had a melanoma – a type of skin cancer – before being told a mistake had been made.

She had her eggs frozen after being told the immunotherapy treatment could affect her fertility.

She said: "I spent two years believing I had cancer, went through all the treatment, and then was told there had been no cancer at all.

"You just can't really believe something like this can happen, and still to this day I've not had an explanation as to how and why it happened."

Ms Royle, 33, a theatrical make-up artist, has won compensation from the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in London.

Both accepted responsibility for the misdiagnosis in 2019.

The error happened after Ms Royle was referred in 2019 for a dermatology review at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital by her GP when she reported that a mole on her upper arm had increased in size and become itchy and scabbed.

A biopsy was carried out and reviewed and Ms Royle, then aged 29, was told melanoma had been identified.

She was then referred to the specialist cancer unit at The Royal Marsden Hospital. Her biopsy was reviewed and, again, she was told that this confirmed a melanoma.

She underwent a 2cm wide excision of tissue to remove the "cancer" along with immunotherapy and egg preservation.

Up to May 2021 she had had nine treatment cycles. After being told there was no sign of the disease, she moved north as the Covid lockdown had prevented her from working in the theatre.

The error with her diagnosis was discovered when a new hospital trust reviewed her file and scans.

She said: "When the doctors sat me down and told me, it took a while to sink in.

"You'd think the immediate emotion would be relief, and in some sense it was, but I'd say the greater emotions were frustration and anger.

"When I was first told I had cancer and that I needed surgery to remove it and treatment which could impact on my fertility, my approach was simply to say 'Yes, let's do what we need to do'.

"I wasn't thinking about having children at that time, but having children was always something I planned for later in life, so having eggs preserved was something I didn't hesitate doing.

"All in all, I got my head around it pretty quickly, as difficult as that was."

She added: "However, then to be told two years later, having undergone the treatment and lived with the worry, I found being told I'd never had cancer at all [to be] hard.

"I wasn't in a good place for quite some time to be honest, strange as that may seem."

Her case was taken up by Hudgell Solicitors, who won an out-of-court settlement with the two trusts.

Associate solicitor Matthew Gascoyne said: "This was obviously a quite unusual case in that Megan was mistakenly diagnosed with skin cancer, something which obviously had a significant psychological impact upon her given her young age.

"This was exacerbated by her needing surgery, and being advised that the only treatment she could have may impact upon her fertility.

"She suffered from sickness throughout her treatment, so it was a difficult time for her.

"Finally, the psychological impact was worsened by being given the news that she'd not had cancer at all.

"All of this was entirely avoidable.

"It was only when her post-treatment care was transferred to another Trust that this was discovered.

"Had she not moved, she may well now still be in a situation where she was believing she was in remission and that the cancer could return."

A spokesperson from The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust said: "We wish to offer our sincere apologies to Megan Royle for the distress caused by her experience at our trust and we are pleased that a settlement has been agreed."

A spokesperson for North West London Pathology, a joint partnership hosted by Imperial College NHS Trust, said: "We are deeply sorry for the distress caused to Ms Royle and apologise unreservedly for the error made.

"While no settlement will make up for the impact this has had, we are pleased an agreement has been reached."

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