A mother-of-two has revealed her heartbreak over being diagnosed with cervical cancer — after being handed her the wrong smear test results by hospital staff.
Amie Wood, 39, was told everything appeared normal after the routine check at a Wolverhampton hospital in 2019, but later learned the outcome was ‘misreported’.
In January 2022, the teaching assistant was diagnosed with cervical cancer and underwent a life-changing hysterectomy, ending her hopes to have more children.
Agonisingly, a subsequent investigation revealed the smear result had showed abnormal changes — meaning chances to prevent the cancer were missed.
Furious Ms Wood enlisted medical negligence lawyers to take legal action against Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.
The Trust has since admitted a breach of duty in Ms Wood’s care and apologised for giving her ‘incorrect’ test results.
Ms Wood, who also worked as a personal trainer before her diagnosis, is now set for a huge payout to fund her ongoing care and support.
The Trust accepted if the smear — which showed moderate to severe high grade cell changes — had been correctly reported, she would have been referred within weeks for excision treatment.
Amie Wood, 39, underwent a life-changing hysterectomy after being diagnosed more than two years after her result was incorrectly recorded as normal
The teaching assistant, from Bewdley, Worcester, underwent a smear test at a Wolverhampton hospital in October 2019 — but the outcome was ‘misreported’ by staff
This would have avoided the development of cancer and the need for a hysterectomy.
Now, Ms Wood is speaking out about the impact cancer has had on her life.
She said: ‘Before the cancer, I’d always struggled a bit with anxiety over my health.
‘Because of that, I always made sure I went to all my appointments and never had any reason to question the results I was given as I had faith in the medics.
‘To be diagnosed with cervical cancer and undergo a hysterectomy was heart-breaking enough but then I found out that my smear results had been misreported and it could have all been avoided.
‘To this day, I still struggle to comprehend everything I’ve been through and how close my children could have been to losing their mum.
‘It’s made my anxiety and worries even worse, which I didn’t think was possible.
‘It’s also deeply upsetting that the choice of having more children has been taken from me.
Ms Wood’s original smear was reported as negative but with high-risk HPV a virus that can lead to cancer. She was advised to return for repeat screening in 12 months’ time
The mother-of-two says she also suffers increased anxiety about her health and currently feels unable to return to her part-time second job as a personal trainer
‘At the same time though, I know how lucky I am to still be here and just want to let people know if you’re going through something similar, there is support out there.’
Roughly two women in Britain every day die from cervical cancer.
However, if the signs are recognised early, the chance of surviving for at least five years is roughly 95 per cent.
This drops to 15 per cent if the cancer is detected at later stages, when it has spread to other areas of the body.
Heavier periods, bleeding after sex, between periods, or after menopause, and pain during sex, or in general, particularly in your lower back, pelvis, or lower abdomen are all symptoms of cervical cancer.
In about 99 per cent of cases, cervical cancer is caused by an infection of a high-risk type of human papillomavirus (HPV).
There are more than 100 types of HPV, and only around 30 can affect the genital area.
Many people never show symptoms, as they can arise years after infection, and the majority of cases go away without treatment.
Cervical cancer symptoms to look out for include unusual vaginal bleeding, pain during sex and lower back or pelvic pain.
However, in some cases, it can cause the genital tissues to grow abnormally, resulting over many years in cervical cancer.
During the screening appointment, a small sample of cells will be taken from your cervix, the NHS explains. If ‘high risk’ types of HPV are not found, they will not do any further tests.
But if they do find ‘high risk’ HPV, the sample is checked for changes to cells in the cervix, which can be treated before they get a chance to turn into cervical cancer.
Ms Wood’s original smear was reported as negative but with high-risk HPV a virus that can lead to cancer. She was advised to return for repeat screening in 12 months’ time.
Follow-up tests in October 2020 and October 2021 found persisting HPV and she was referred for further investigation including a colposcopy and biopsy — which had the results been reported correctly, should have happened in 2019.
After being diagnosed with cancer in 2022, she instructed lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate her care under the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.
Through NHS Resolution, the Trust admitted liability and a breach of duty in care, in that the result given was ‘incorrect.’
It further admitted that had the sample been correctly reported as high-grade moderate or severe changes, Ms Wood would have been referred for follow-up consultation and treatment within two to six weeks.
All women and people with a cervix in the UK aged between 25 and 64 are also invited for regular cervical screenings, which serve as the primary way of diagnosis
Following her diagnosis, she underwent a hysterectomy which means she is not able to have any more children as planned with her new partner.
Ms Wood says she also suffers increased anxiety about her health and currently feels unable to return to her part-time second job as a personal trainer.
Kathryn Salt, the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Ms Wood, said: ‘The past few years have been incredibly difficult for Amie, having to come to terms with her diagnosis and then finding out that it could have been avoided.
‘Amie was understandably terrified to be told she had invasive cancer and underwent a hysterectomy at that point as she couldn’t face the possibility of the disease recurring or not being removed completely.
‘Since then, she’s also suffered from increased health anxiety.
‘While nothing can make up for the physical and psychological ordeal Amie has been through, we’re pleased that we’ve been able to secure her the answers she deserves.
‘Sadly, through our work, we continue to see the devastating effect cancer has. We continue to support Amie as we work towards a settlement which will ensure she can access the specialist support and therapies she requires.
‘In the meantime it’s vital people continue to take part in the cervical cancer screening programme. Early detection and treatment is key to beating cancer.’
A spokesperson for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust said: ‘We would like to express our sincere regret and apologies to Ms Wood.
‘The trust always strives to deliver safe and appropriate care to all our patients. Sadly, on this occasion we fell short.
‘We are working with Ms Wood’s representatives to achieve an appropriate resolution and will ensure all learnings from this case are taken forward.’
