N.S. woman wrongly diagnosed with terminal cancer: ‘Absolutely devastating’

A week ago, 31-year-old Gabriella Patey was told she had advanced-stage breast cancer and was expected to have only months to live.

Armed with the “grim diagnosis” that had also claimed her mother’s life, Patey began telling family and friends and making end-of-life preparations.

“I put a claim in through my bank for critical illness insurance and just put my name on the list for medically assisted dying,” the Halifax-area woman said.

“I just came to terms with it. This is what it was, just absolutely devastating.”

But days later, Patey’s family physician called with shocking news.

“I got another call from my primary care physician stating, actually, there had been a critical patient error at the IWK (Health Centre). And the file with the grim diagnosis did not even belong to me,” she said.

“I didn’t even really believe her. I mean why should I? They had made this mistake once, how could they make it again?”

Patey first discovered a lump in her breast in October 2023, just a few weeks after her mother died of breast cancer.

She went to the Breast Health Clinic at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax over the course of a year and had multiple ultrasounds.

“Throughout that entire process I said, ‘You know, is doing a mastectomy an option because of my history?’ They stated, quote-unquote, ‘We’re not there yet.'”

She had a biopsy on the tissue from her left breast at the end of April this year.

On May 17, Patey said she received a call with “great news, “and was told the tumour was benign and had no traces of breast cancer.

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“My husband and I obviously celebrated. We told all my friends and family, it was just such a big relief.”

Two and a half weeks later on June 4, her family doctor called to tell her there had been a mistake and she did indeed have cancer. The devastating news came just five days after she finished a successful thyroid cancer treatment.

Patey provided Global News with a copy of the written biopsy result stating “breast tissue (left upper outer quadrant mass)” was found to have “invasive ductal carcinoma.”

She credits her family physician, who also works in the IWK part-time, for pursuing the truth about her diagnosis.

By Friday — two days after her terminal diagnosis — her family physician confirmed it was actually an error.

Patey’s lab report states “breast tissue (left breast mass at 10 to 12 o’clock)” had “benign breast tissue” and was “negative for in situ and invasive malignancy.”

Furthermore, her family doctor physically went to the IWK to check the slides.

“A director in the pathology department spoke to my primary care physician directly … and verbally admitted that it was a critical patient error,” she said.

“They are investigating it but she can’t comment anymore because it is an ongoing investigation. So no, I have no idea if the other woman has found out and they haven’t admitted anything to me on paper.”

At this point, Patey isn’t confident about her biopsy results and wants to receive something in writing.

Patey said she is left doubting Nova Scotia’s health-care system and is pursuing legal action.

But the first thing she wanted was an explanation and an apology.

“I have called them 17 times. I’ve left multiple messages. I’ve filed a complaint with the Nova Scotia Health Authority. I filed a complaint through the patient advocate services to the IWK, and I have received absolutely no response, not an apology, nothing, absolutely nothing,” she said Monday.

“I wouldn’t even have known about this error, I don’t think, at this point in time, if it wasn’t for my primary care physician looking at me like I’m an actual human being, and I’m not just a number in a system somewhere.”

Patey received a call Tuesday from an IWK representative who confirmed the error and apologized. They said a written explanation was coming.

Through it all, Patey said she and her family have been left traumatized by what happened.

“It’s absolutely devastating to get a diagnosis like that. I had to look my husband in the face and tell him,” she said.

“(We have) all these plans for our future and (I had to) say, ‘I may not be here to live out those plans with you.’ I mean we’re crying ourselves to sleep every night.”

And the fact there is another woman and family out there impacted by this error weighs heavily on her.

“The part that also breaks my heart is there is a poor woman out there walking around thinking that she has a benign breast tumour and she has cancer. She has a terminal illness and she might not have any idea,” she said.

“If this happened to me, who else does it happen to and who else will it happen to? There has to be something in place so this doesn’t happen again to anybody.”

In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson from IWK Health said “concerns of this nature are taken seriously.”

“Due to patient privacy, IWK Health is unable to comment on specific cases,” wrote spokesperson Andrea Slaney.

“However, concerns of this nature are taken seriously and a formal investigation process is followed with engagement from IWK’s Quality, Patient Safety and Patient Experience team.”