Newfoundland Injury Law Blog

Newfoundland Injury Law Blog
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Class Action Lawsuits

3/10/2009
Ches Crosbie
Comments (12)

Class Member Comments Eloquent and Compelling.

 

The commentary and response to my blog yesterday has been emotionally compelling and eloquent.  To pick quotes from some comments at random: 

“I have 4 beautiful children who see me as strong and I die every day as I think of the women who have succumbed and who will succumb to this disease because of ERROR.  I want to have trust!!! We will all eventually die, but not this way – hopeless and helpless due to ERROR!!”


“This is anguish and distress brought to its highest degree.  Why these people at Hiroc seem to think that patients in this category should not be compensated boggles my mind!”

 

“Needless to say the anxiety and stress has been unbearable.  I have not been able to concentrate on anything but this failure in our health system ever since.  My home life has been affected and I have not been able to return to work.”

 

“I was just starting to relax a bit in the knowledge of everything possible having been done for me when this dealt me a blow that I will probably never recover from.”

 

“I will question every result I ever have done again and every time I talk about it I could sit down and cry…. Who can say if we will ever be able to forgive and forget.”

 

“The mental torment and stress that has been my companion since my diagnosis in 2004 cannot be measured by a court settlement.  I was given the right diagnosis and treatment but the way that Eastern Health chose not to inform patients…. leaves me quite hollow. Each day I think about those poor women who were not given proper treatment and I think about their families.”

 

The comments and response to my blog are testimony to shattered faith and confidence and lasting emotional trauma, even among those patients whose retesting confirmed an earlier result.

 

I have not been through what cancer patients have been through, whether their testing was confirmed or changed on retesting, so the testimony of class members in the form of the comments helps a lot, both now and down the road as we approach the mediation.

 

Perhaps there is even some comfort to be gained by sharing experiences.

 

All comments by class members are carefully read by me and will be used in formulating the approach to settlement. They will have an influence on the insurer too.  So please comment if you have not already. I am keeping track of the number of comments and look forward to making my donation to Daffodil Place! And I am raising the donation to $25 for every post!

 

(Posting a comment on my blog is easy, but first you must register for an account.  After you click the link to create an account it will ask you to fill in some basic information.  This information includes your name, e-mail address, username and password.  If you wish to remain anonymous, please don’t include your real name in this information.  If you choose to insert your real name, your name will be displayed at the end of your comment.  So, when wanting to remain anonymous, please use an alias.)

 



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12 Comments to "Class Member Comments Eloquent and Compelling."


Iwould like to say to HROC that every one of us breast cancer patients caught up in this terrible tragedy of the ER/
PR retesting has suffered to some extent. For those patients who had no change in results from the retesting may not have been affected medically but I am sure the pain and worry of waiting for the outcome of results was psychologically unbearable and that all breast cancer patients I am sure stand on the same ground when it comes to ever fully trusting our health care system again.
Because of the terrible misdiagnosed results and of all the lives that have been turned into a living hell from the flawed results of the ER/PR retesting (the unnecessary pain and suffering the lost lives and the pure torture these families have endured)is uncomprehen-sible. The uncertainty of what long term ramifications the future holds for us breast cancer survivors because of the flawed tests and missed life saving hormone treatment, the question will always be the same, has our lives been cut short because of a system that has failed us greatly.
So when it comes to commmpensation,HRO,
please step up to the plate (completely) and stop trying to drive a wedge between groups of sick people,do the right thing.
Posted by Lorraine Hudson on March 22, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Susan Andrews indicates that she was treated with Tamoxifen on the basis of 25% PR positive. She also had chemo and radiation. The original negative Estrogen retested positive. Would she have had chemo if the positive Estrogen was known about in 2002? Would her treatment have been different in any other way?

This is an excellent question and one that only reviewing oncologists can answer. We have two oncologists engaged in reviewing charts, Dr. Michael Goodyear from Nova Scotia and Dr. Katia Tonkin from Alberta. Between them they have reviewed 21 charts at present, and our plan is to review another 29 or 30 so as to have 50 patient cases available for presentation at the mediation. This sample would provide a basis for estimating a settlement fund. We aim to have this task completed by the end of April if we are to be ready for a June mediation date.

Bottom line, I am not a cancer expert and cannot answer the question. We are making progress with the expert reviews and will provide these to class members as they are completed. Obviously, it is not possible to complete a review of every chart until after the mediation. I would thank everyone for their patience, and for the insights provided by their comments.
Posted by Ches Crosbie on March 18, 2009 at 02:10 PM
I was diagnosed in Sept. 2002 and was told my estrogen was negative but my progesterone was 25% positive. Because of this I was put on tamoxifen for five years and had 4 chemo treatments and 15 radiation treatments. Then my testing was sent away again and my estrogen came back positive. Would this have change my chemo treatment? There are so many questions. I would even like to see my pathology results and see if I indeed did have cancer. It is hard to have any faith in the system and especially when your surgeon says that if you have cancer in one breast it is quite possible that you will have it in the other breast. If so what do you have to look forward to - more wrong testing. We need a lot of changes in the system and more accountability.
Posted by Susan Andrews on March 17, 2009 at 11:40 AM
Even though I had my ovaries removed years before my cancer and wasn't on any hormone replacement treatment,after surgery, chemo and radiation treatments, I was mis-diagnosed and put on tamoxifan. I was on this treatment for three and a half years. One of the side effects of tomoxifan is blood clots. During this time I couldn't stretch, because my legs would cramp so bad. My whole body was going through turmoil. Many times I was tempted to stop taking tomoxifan but I thought it was probably keeping me alive. Then in June 2006 I was told to stop taking Tamoxifan because it wasn't doing me any good. I was also told that they didn't know what it did to my body. It's been a long time since I've been off tomoxifan but my body is finally back to normal, my scalp doesn't feel dead any more,I don't feel like I am just going through the motions and I will never take a good stretch for granted again. After going through this very difficult period in my life I am fortunate that my husband is still with me.

Ena G
Posted by Ena Granter on March 16, 2009 at 08:39 PM
Being involved in this nightmare myself,I feel for all the patients whom are directly or indirectly involved.I hope that HIROC will see the distress that Eastern Health has caused to all Cancer patients, not only the ones who ER/PR results have changed.I also feel cheated out of the chance to have had Tamoxifin, I will always wonder"what if".

God Bless,
Elizabeth Finlayson
Posted by Elizabeth Finlayson on March 16, 2009 at 08:28 PM
I am very upset by Eastern Health Care as I too was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998 had surgery and was told they got it all, no tamoxifin was given to me just radiation and chemo. Then in 2001 the cancer came back in my lymph nodes and again I had chemo. I then went away to Ontario to work and in February 2008 I was once again struck with cancer only this time I won't be so blessed as I was told it was TERMINAL and I may have 5 years. How can this be happening to me? Then in May 2008 I received a registered letter from Eastern Health Care advising me that mistakes were made and retesting showed my results from earlier cancer tests were incorrect and apologized for any unnecessary stress this may have caused. EXCUSE ME but an apology won't give me back my life. I feel CHEATED. Will we ever be treated fairly and just? The only good thing that has come from this tragedy for me is that I got to come back home to enjoy whatever time I have left. I have lost faith in our health care system. Betty Osmond
Posted by Betty Osmond on March 16, 2009 at 02:27 PM
I lost my 41 year-old wife to breast cancer in August 2005, just 11 short months after she was initially diagnosed. She went through many rounds of chemotherapy and radiation during this period. It was a tremendously stressful time for her, for me and for our two young children. On more than one occasion, we asked whether there were facilities outside the province that could provide better care and treatment for her and each time we were assured that Eastern Health was as good as any of the rest. Little did we know about the things that were brewing behind the scenes. While it’s good that there was an inquiry to bring the truth out into the open, it’s not good that lives were lost. Nothing could ever compensate for that.
Posted by Robert Murphy on March 13, 2009 at 06:39 PM
I was very upset several times during my Breast Cancer experience. I felt I was let down by our medicare system in so many ways. First by being told by my family doctor I was too young to have it and no family history. Secound by having important tests postponed because during a hospital strike the medical board decided cancer patients were'nt considered a priority. Who decides that i'd like to know? To be told by phone about retesting was very scary . I had to learn about it by t.v and by newspaper. Through the whole experience i've had to allways question things which I've found very tiring and frustrating. I could go on and on about my dealings with our medicare system but I can't because it makes me very angry. I just hope our medicare system will improve after it's all over. i have my doubts.
Posted by Arlene Fry on March 13, 2009 at 02:33 PM
I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer on February 14, 2001. I was told that I had to take Tamoxifan for 5 years after all other treatments, including surgery, chemo and radiation. My ER/PR results came back negative and I was then told that I couldn't take Tamoxifan. According to my Radiologist that was not a good thing. When the news broke of the misdiagnosed ER/PR results I was shocked and all kinds of thoughts went through my mind, after all this was almost 5 years after my diagnosis and was scared that I wasn't given all the treatments i needed. I called the 1-800 phone # that was given for anyone who had questions and was told that mine would be retested and that I would receive a phone call. Months later I received a phone call saying that my biopsy was sent to Toronto for re-testing and that I would get another phone call with the new results. It was about 3 months later before I received that phone call to notifiy me that it was still negative, no change. It was on an emotional roller coaster during this whole time waiting for retesting results and it just brought all those emotions with the diagnosis, right back to the surface.
Posted by JAN on March 12, 2009 at 11:57 AM
I am so disheartened by our health care system! I, too, question every test result I receive and for good reason. No more blind faith for me! I suffered from breast cancer in 2002 and was treated as ER/PR positive when all along I was negative. I had a bone scan done 2 years after and was told cancer showed up on my brain, spine and lower back. I went back for a recheck in 6 weeks and nothing showed up! Blunders are happening.....
Those of us involved in this class action suit know the torment and anguish we face everyday as well as the health issues that have evolved from our treatments. I am so glad the Cameron Inquiry is officially over. I now long for the Class Action Suit to be over so we can get on with our lives without this hanging over our heads as daily reminders of what has happened to us!
Posted by Lorena Matthews on March 12, 2009 at 10:55 AM
My Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000.We were all devastated, not to mention my Mom. Who in our point of view is a woman of great strength and wisdom!
And when her test result had changed from negative to positive another blow!
We felt angry, fear and lots of tears!
And questioned what if?

We all look for these doctors to care for our Mom and they all let us down including Eastern Health.

So from a daughters point of view every last woman should be compensated regardless of a test change.
No one should of went through this aweful distress, let alone fighting for their lives to live, now fighting a bigger giant!

God Bless you all
Jane Hopkins(a daughter)
Posted by Jane Hopkins on March 12, 2009 at 08:25 AM
I was diagnosed with cancer in 1999, just 7 months after burying my husband who died of cancer. Needless to say, it took a long time for me to get beyond the fear that just the word cancer evokes. Just as I was getting beyond this, this whole crisis began. I did not want to go back there again but I had no choice. Granted my test results did not change,but the old fears and feelings came back.
Posted by AARM on March 10, 2009 at 10:14 PM

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