Portsmouth woman who died with cervical cancer 'not listened to by doctors' say family
The family of a young woman from Portsmouth who died just ten days after being diagnosed with cervical cancer say they're devastated that she wasn't listened to earlier.
An inquest into the death of Porsche McGregor-Sims, 27, concluded that she died from natural causes.
Ms McGregor-Sims had been experiencing worsening symptoms for 15 months before she passed away at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in the city on April 14 2020.
An inquest into her death at Portsmouth Coroner's Court heard that she was referred by her GP to the city's Queen Alexandra Hospital after she reported suffering from abdominal pain and bleeding in December 2019.
She was seen on January 24 2020 by locum gynaecologist Dr Peter Schlesinger, who dismissed the likelihood of her having cancer, the court heard.
Dr Schlesinger decided a physical examination was not required because he believed her pain was likely down to hormonal contraception and endometriosis or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Doctors told the inquest Ms McGregor-Sims should have been properly examined on that date, and if her cancer had been diagnosed then she may have lived for several more months.
Coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp said that the early diagnosis would not have changed the outcome for Ms McGregor-Sims, but she and her family would have been saved the "shock and trauma" of finding out about her cancer just before she died.
Giving a narrative verdict, she told the court: "It's not clear that a referral in January would have altered the tragic outcome, but an earlier diagnosis would have allowed more time for her and her family to prepare themselves."
Ms Rhodes-Kemp said that a mass of 5.3cm was only detected on April 6 following a CT scan, and a PET scan on April 9 found that the cancer was "widespread and inoperable" and "chemotherapy was the only option".
She said: "The appointment planned for a detailed discussion of these issues with the family was due on April 13. This meant that the family and Porsche were unaware of the details of the cancer diagnosis and the severity."
The family said Ms McGregor-Sims had requested a second opinion in January, describing it as "very out of character for her to complain" - but she felt she was "not listened to".
In a statement read to the court, they said: "None of us, including Porsche, thought that she would not make it out of hospital on April 13.
"We didn't even have a chance to adjust to the knowledge that it was stage four cancer and therefore we were not going to have much time. Every step of the way she was being told it was IBS, and from what we can see, nobody was entertaining it (the idea that it could have been cancer).
"You can't have come to terms that she was going to go to hospital and come out in a body bag because we didn't even know it was cancer. There's no way we could have prepared for it."
Claire Burton, a consultant gynaecologist at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, said that Ms McGregor-Sims should have been referred for further tests to check for cervical cancer at her first hospital appointment in January 2020.
Ms Burton, who was not involved in Ms McGregor-Sims' care but helped write an investigation into it afterwards, apologised on behalf of the trust to her family.
In a statement, Liz Rix, chief nurse at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, said, “On behalf of Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, I would like to express our condolences to the family of Porsche McGregor-Sims.
"When we were aware of concerns around her care, we immediately investigated these and ensured we learnt from the experience of Porsche and her loved ones.
"I would like to reassure patients that their safety is of utmost importance to us and should they have any concerns or questions regarding their care, encourage them to raise these with the team caring for them. Our thoughts are with Porsche’s family at this difficult time.”