A woman whose mother died five years after a cancer misdiagnosis is calling for second opinions on oncology scans to be made mandatory.
Louise Hickman, from Ipswich, was told in 2019 that a mass removed from her ovary was benign and that she would not require any further treatment.
But in 2022, the “kind and caring mother” was diagnosed with ovarian cancer after she returned to Ipswich Hospital with worsening symptoms.
Later tests confirmed her initial cyst found three years earlier had indeed been cancerous and in July 2024, she passed away, aged 47.
Her daughter, Chloe, said she believes her mother’s outcome may have been different if she was correctly diagnosed in 2019, and is now campaigning to make it mandatory to have oncology scans checked by two experts.
“By the time my mum was advised she had cancer, it was too late,” Ms Hickman told The Independent.
“When I found out I was really angry. You hear about these things all the time but it’s been very hard to deal with and accept.”
A report issued to Ms Hickman and her family by the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust following her mum’s death accepted that the 2019 cyst should have been “adequately sampled and referred for an expert opinion” at the time.
A clinical opinion included in the report also stated that the “missed diagnosis with delay in treatment caused significant harm”.
Though Ms Hickman cannot say for certain her mother would have survived the illness had it been diagnosed earlier, she believes changes to testing procedures could save another person’s life in the future.
She has launched a petition calling for the government to implement “Louise’s Law”, which would make it mandatory that benign oncology scans are sent for a second expert opinion.
“We want to see this change in honour of my mum, who was the bravest, most resilient and most caring person I’ve ever known,” Ms Hickman said.
“I want to ensure that second opinions for all scans and biopsies in oncology are made mandatory. I understand the timeframe may be difficult but this could save lives.”
The Independent has contacted the Department of Health and Social Care for a comment.
Ms Hickman said that since launching the petition she has had an “overwhelming amount of support form people across the country.”
“So many people have been in a similar position,” she said.
Dr Tim Leary, Interim Chief Medical Officer at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust said the trust launched a patient safety investigation following the delay of Louise Hickman’s cancer diagnosis and the team had met with the family and shared the findings.
“I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Louise’s family for their loss,” Dr Leary said.
“We understand they still have some concerns and questions. We are listening and our teams will continue to support them further at this very difficult time.
“The lessons learned from Louise’s care and treatment will be used to improve our processes and services.”
You can sign Ms Hickman’s petition here.
