Specialist Lawyers Say Too Many Women Suffering Delays In Cervical Cancer Treatment

A young woman who was only diagnosed with cervical cancer almost two years after she first showed symptoms is campaigning to raise awareness of the disease and is urging others to trust their instincts if they feel they may also be affected.

Tayne Eaton, now 25, from Ipswich, was at the time too young for smear test screening and battled with symptoms of cervical cancer for almost two years before the terrible disease was finally diagnosed. She has since undergone chemotherapy and surgery and has only just returned to work part time because of her illness.

Tayne is now backing the Smear for Smear campaign during Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 2016 (from 24 to 30 January) by the charity Jo’s Trust and wants to raise awareness of the disease among other young women.

She has now instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the care she received from her GPs in Basildon, Essex as she has concerns that there were failure to investigate her symptoms of cancer properly and alleges that there was a delay in diagnosis as a result.  There are fears that opportunities to diagnose her cancer as early as November 2013 were missed and at that stage, if diagnosed, her treatment would have been much less invasive and substantially improved her prognosis.

Tayne first started to suffer constant bleeding in the Summer 2013 and over the following months was seen at her GP surgery a number of times complaining of bleeding and pain.  Her symptoms worsened after she gave birth to her son, Reggie-Lee, in September 2014 but was only eventually diagnosed with cervical cancer in March 2015 when a tumour almost 9cm long was found which had spread beyond her cervix.

Tayne completed chemotherapy treatment in June last year and has undergone a hysterectomy and several other operations and procedures to prevent the cancer spreading.

Tayne, who lives with her young son and husband Lee, said: “The past three years have been devastating for me. I knew something was seriously wrong but I just seemed to go from test to test without anyone really knowing what was happening. I feel that just because I am young, cervical cancer was never really considered.

“I was in good health before the summer of 2013 but since then it’s just been one long nightmare. I had a tumour that was almost 9cm in size and it just wasn’t spotted. I don’t understand why. I believe that if the cervical cancer had been diagnosed sooner that I would not have required such drastic treatment and many of my current problems would have been avoided. Thankfully I have Reggie-Lee but it’s upsetting to think that I will never be able to have any more children because of my condition.

“After the chemotherapy and surgery, I lost a lot of mobility and couldn’t walk very far at all but I have gradually been getting stronger.

“I hope by sharing my story and by taking legal action it raises awareness of cervical cancer and ensures other young women attend for their smears which sadly weren’t available for me given my age.  It is also really important that, if they have any of the signs of cervical cancer, they don’t ignore them but instead trust their instincts and push for further testing if they aren’t satisfied. ”

Cervical cancer is the most common type of cancer in women under the age of 35 and in the UK eight women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every day.

Expert Opinion

“In recent years we continue to see many cases where women have had their lives devastated because of unnecessary delays in diagnosing cervical cancer.

“Our cases often involve delays in diagnosis and treatment for a number of reasons, from not carrying out the appropriate tests, misdiagnosis and even lost medical details, and the results can be devastating. It’s also surprising to see how many women each year are not attending cervical cancer screenings.

“Cervical cancer is a treatable disease with a good long term prognosis when it is diagnosed early, but delays can have terrible consequences. Any symptoms should not be dismissed; it is vital that women know what to look out for and take medical advice but, equally, that doctors pay attention to their concerns.

“The work of charities such as Jo’s Trust is crucial in preventing cervical cancer and provide advice and support for those it affects. We hope that anyone concerned about any symptoms they may have makes sure they seek medical advice as soon as possible.” Guy Forster - Partner

More information on the signs and symptoms of cervical cancer can be found at www.jostrust.org.uk/

If you or a loved one has suffered as a result of negligent cervical cancer care, we may be able to help you claim compensation. See our Medical Negligence Guide for more information.