Breast cancer detection fail

Terminal patient in legal battle

EARLY signs of breast cancer went undetected in hundreds of Queensland women due to failings by the state-run screening provider, shocking court documents obtained by the Bulletin reveal.

Documents filed in the Supreme Court also claim radiologists working for BreastScreen Queensland were given an unreasonably short time to review mammograms, analysing up to 170 breast screen images an hour.

The disturbing claims are outlined in a $1.2 million negligence lawsuit brought by a former senior executive of the Queensland Cancer Council after BSQ failed to detect her breast cancer.

Louise Perram-Fisk’s cancer is terminal. The 51-yearold from Norman Park in Brisbane, was due to give evidence on Monday as part of her suit against the State Government and Metro South Hospital and Health Service which runs the BSQ centre at Upper Mt Gravatt which failed to detect her cancer. But in an 11th-hour decision late yesterday the trial was adjourned after an out-of-court settlement.

Perram-Fisk’s lawyers argued radiologists at BSQ were so overworked they missed breast tissue masses which later develop into cancer in more than 100 patients.

The court documents claim one BSQ radiologist cleared 110 patients of cancer who were later diagnosed during the two years to December 2016. Another senior radiologist at BSQ had 30 former patients later diagnosed with cancer over the same period, the court was told.

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer and deputy director general of Queensland’s Department of Health, Jeannette Young, stated “no concerns” were raised about the two radiologists, the documents revealed.

Radiologists were given up to 425 images to read in 2.5 hours, according to the documents. If they need longer than 2.5 hours to read the scans they are not paid for their extra time, and their workload can peak at reading 1275 images over 7.5 hours of paid work per day.

Ms Perram-Fisk claimed a lump she found in her left breast in July 2017 was the same “concerning” mass BSQ “missed” during a scan at Upper Mt Gravatt on July 9, 2015. The government denied that claim. She also stated the lump grew into a stage IV tumour, and her cancer was terminal after spreading.

Ms Perram-Fisk claimed if the radiologists at BSQ had detected her cancer in 2015, she would have started potentially lifesaving treatment earlier and avoided much pain and suffering.

The state argued even if the tumour was detected in 2015 she would have suffered “some or all of the” medical consequences.