Express & Star

Mother with incurable cancer given all clear by mistake still praises NHS

A mother with incurable cancer who was mistakenly given the all clear at New Cross Hospital has still praised the NHS for the care she has been given.

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Victoria Powers from Cheslyn Hay was given the all clear by mistake

Victoria Powers, from Great Wyrley, went to A&E on New Year's Eve, was told she was cancer-free and sent home with antibiotics after a doctor had studied her scan.

The 34-year-old celebrated being free of breast cancer and even rang a treatment bell to mark the occasion.

However, when she returned to New Cross Hospital she was given the devastating news she had secondary cancer which had spread to her lungs.

She told the Express & Star: "I really have to put aside what happened to me at A&E because the rest of the nurses and oncologists at the hospital have been fantastic.

"I even rang the bell for the all clear but then I found it out it had returned, and was incurable."

Victoria was first diagnosed in 2017 with breast cancer and bravely went through various treatments to defeat the disease.

However, she said: "It was such a smack in the face to find out my breast cancer had returned and spread to my lungs and liver. My cancer is incurable but I am feeling OK now as it has stopped spreading.

"For them to have missed it when I flagged as an oncology patient, you think they would have noticed something on the lungs."

Victoria, who has had three rounds of chemotherapy, wants women with the BRCA 2 gene to get themselves checked out.

She said: "Anyone with the BRCA 2 gene has a lot higher chance of getting cancer so I want people to check themselves out regularly."

Now Victoria, whose son Jacob is eight years old, is getting some help from her friends who are tackling the Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for the stricken mum.

She said: "Their GoFundMe page has just reached £10,000 which is amazing. The amount of support I have received since it went up has been really lovely."

Jamie-Ann Edwards, who organised the fundraiser, said: "The response to this has been incredible.

"It has made us really feel that as well as helping Tor make memories, we could also help her build a foundation for Jacob's future too. We have raised our target and we hope you can raise to our challenge."

Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which runs New Cross Hospital, has been approached for a comment.