In today’s sordid medical horror story, we have the case of Lisa Monk,(39) a US woman from Texas with two children,who had initially gone to Hospital in 2022 regarding a stomach ache that she thought was regarding kidney stones was diagnosed with Cancer. Only to later find out she never had cancer.
Ms. Monk’s journey started with stomach discomfort, which led to a scan uncovering a mass on her spleen. This discovery triggered a series of tests, culminating in doctors delivering the life-changing diagnosis of angiosarcoma. Faced with an uncertain future, Ms. Monk started writing heartfelt letters to her loved ones, preparing for a future she worried she might not witness.
Initial round of Chemotherapy
Starting in March of last year, the resident of College Station,Texas, underwent her initial round of chemotherapy which was quite aggressive, resulting in the loss of all her hair. The first round of treatment left her with “silvery skin” and constant vomiting.
“When I heard the doctor say it was cancer, I was in disbelief. The diagnosis hit me hard, and I was informed it was terminal,” recounts Lisa. Lisa further added “I had to go home and tell my two kids. I didn’t tell them at this point that it was terminal or that I only had 15 months; I just told them it was bad, but I was going to try to fight it.”
It wasn’t until Monk had undergone her second round of chemotherapy that her doctor correctly interpreted her pathology report, showing that there was never any cancer in her body. Sadly, she had been misdiagnosed by her doctor.
Lisa shared her experience when she was told about misinterpretation of her pathology report and stated “I saw the nurse practitioner first and she just asked me about my symptoms and she was scrolling on the computer while she was talking to me. All of a sudden she just stops talking and has this look on her face. She turned to me and looked completely horrified and told me she needed to get the doctor and then ran out of the room. She left me alone for about 15 minutes and the doctor came back in. He said a lot of medical lingo to me and then told me I didn’t have cancer.”
Further she added “The doctor then told me that I never had cancer. At that moment I looked like I had cancer and I felt like I had cancer as I was vomiting, I was sick and my skin was silvery because of the chemotherapy. The doctor then congratulated me, which really bothered me.”
Stating further regarding her experience she shared “At the time I was in shock but now I feel the more appropriate response would be ‘I’m sorry. l asked for a copy of their pathology report and I found a hallway to call my husband and tell him the news.”
The heartbreaking reality of this situation came to light when Monk discovered, upon reviewing my report later, that the pathology report had actually been prepared a month before she was informed. This meant that the hospital staff had been aware of the situation before her second round of chemotherapy but chose to wait a month before sharing this sensitive information with her.
Lisa said “I had had chemotherapy during this time and they could have told me a month earlier and I would have avoided the second round of chemotherapy if they had bothered to read their own pathology report. [After being told I didn’t have cancer) I had to wait a couple of days and then it was confirmed to me that it was not cancer after having a discussion with all the doctors. In the end they determined that my spleen was going to rupture which is why it had the mass on it. It was just blood vessel activity and no cancer in it.”
This entire episode has left Ms. Monk feeling relieved and horrified. Her next course of action and the factors that led to her misdiagnosis remains unknown.
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