‘That is not potential harm, that is serious harm’

The following is a statement made by Patient A about her experiences as a breast cancer patient that saw her misdiagnosed three times:

TO DATE I have requested anonymity and I have not made any public statement regarding my multiple misdiagnoses for breast cancer during the 18-month period September 2005 to March 2007. I have been referred to as the 51-year-old Tipperary woman and more recently as ‘Patient A’.

In September 2005, I discovered a lump in my left breast and was referred to Barringtons Hospital, Limerick. I underwent a mammogram, an ultrasound and a lumpectomy on September 16, 2005.