A woman is taking legal action against the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) after discovering she endured six years of chemotherapy unnecessarily.
Samantha Smith, hailing from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, is bringing a lawsuit against the NHS following a significant mistake in her treatment plan.
In 2014, the 45-year-old was diagnosed with a brain tumor, initially misidentified as simple gastric issues.
Upon detection of the tumor, medical professionals indicated surgery, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy at University Hospital Coventry, was necessary.
Samantha adhered to the chemotherapy regimen for over six years, following the recommendations of consultant oncologist Professor Ian Brown, halting only when he retired.
Throughout this period, numerous MRI scans were undertaken, and in 2021, she was informed that she could discontinue the treatment.
However, a subsequent consultant surprisingly disclosed to Samantha that the duration of her chemotherapy far exceeded the standard treatment timeline.
The new healthcare professional informed her that the chemotherapy should have lasted only six months, not six years.
This revelation was understandably overwhelming for the mother of three.
She stated, “Undergoing chemotherapy is a gruelling process and I’ve been very unwell for the best part of a decade. But I told myself it was all worth it to get better.
“So to find out that around six-and-a-half years of my treatment wasn’t needed came as a huge shock. I feel like that part of my life has been stolen from me, as I spent so long unable to function properly and just getting by day-to-day.”
In response, she has engaged legal counsel to scrutinize her medical care, suspecting other patients might have also faced excessive treatment.
Consequently, Professor Brown is under investigation by the General Medical Council, following reports of another patient receiving 14 years of over-treatment.
Discussing the impact, Samantha mentioned she had to take additional precautions during the Covid pandemic due to her weakened immune system from chemotherapy, raising her risk of infections.
She expressed, “I can’t work and I’m plagued by fatigue, infections, rotting teeth and ongoing issues with my mobility.”
Additionally, she struggles with mobility, unable to move her right leg upwards or her shoulder properly.
The University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (UHCW) is conducting an internal review of the prolonged treatment and has communicated with Samantha, affirming an investigation into her care.
The trust acknowledged that her treatment plan lacked scientific support and assured that measures are in place to prevent similar occurrences.
Leanne Atkinson, the lawyer handling Samantha’s case, commented, “Samantha had every faith in what she was being advised so to be told that more than six years of medication administered to her was completely unnecessary has left her devastated and with so many questions.
“She’s been forced to live with the side effects of the toxic drug, which have taken a significant toll on her health and quality of life. While nothing can change what she’s been through, we’re determined to help her obtain the answers and access to specialist rehabilitation and support she deserves.
“It’s also deeply worrying to hear that Samantha’s case doesn’t appear to be an isolated one and that the care provided to a number of patients is now being investigated.”
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust said, “The Trust is committed to providing the safest possible care. We have comprehensively reviewed and spoken to all individuals who were receiving temozolomide (TMZ) treatment at the end of 2023 to ensure appropriate support and care plans are in place.
“High grade brain tumours are associated with a poor outlook, with fewer than two per cent of patients with grade 4 glioblastomas surviving longer than 10 years. A high grade brain tumour is an extremely complex condition and all modes of treatment – surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy – carry the risk of complications and side effects.
“National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines recognise that clinicians can exercise professional judgement appropriate to individual circumstances when offering treatment to patients. We have commissioned the Royal College of Physicians to conduct an independent review of a representative cohort of patients who received greater than 12 cycles of adjuvant TMZ between 2017 and 2023.
“As this process is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”