UHG apologises to woman over missed cancer diagnosis
University Hospital Galway has issued an apology to a woman who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer after years of her symptoms being dismissed by medical staff. The patient, Mary Keane, described the apology as insufficient and too late, noting that her condition was misdiagnosed as minor issues for over a decade.
Why it matters
This case highlights critical failures in patient advocacy and diagnostic accuracy within public healthcare systems, sparking discussions on medical accountability.
University Hospital Galway has apologised to a woman who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2023 after a number of scans were misinterpreted.
Mary Keane, from Co Mayo, said that doctors paid "no heed" to her and described the apology as "too little, too late".
She had been attending neurologists at UHG with headaches dating back to 2009.
Ms Keane was reassured that they were connected to bruising from an old head injury from an event which happened in 2005.
However, she continued to suffer chronic headaches to the extent that she could not work.
Despite multiple attendances to the hospital's Neurology Department she was primarily treated with painkillers.
Ms Keane's condition deteriorated and significantly worsened in late 2022.
In early 2023, she underwent a CT and MRI which found a lesion on the frontal lobe of her brain.
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