Ireland’s National Screening Service has apologised to the husband of a Tipperary woman who died after two separate BreastCheck mammograms failed to detect abnormalities in her scan.
The apology letter – which was read out in the High Court on Wednesday – acknowledged that there were two opportunities to intervene in the woman’s cancer progression, both of which were missed.
The service apologised for what it called a “breach of duty,” accepting that the delay “materially contributed” to her death.
After receiving scans and being cleared in both 2011 and 2013, Kay O’Keeffe found an unusual lump in her breast in 2014. When she sought medical advice on it, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer.
The cancer spread to her brain and liver, and she died in May of 2017.
Kay was a wife and mother of three children.
In a case taken in the High Court, experts said that had the cancer been caught during the 2011 scan, it would likely have been curable – though by 2014 it was past the point of no return.
In a statement given on behalf of the woman’s husband, Patrick “Patsy” O’Keeffe, the widower said that BreastCheck must make sure that these “failures can never happen again.”
“How could two consecutive mammograms, on the same person, performed two years apart, be misread on each occasion, when every mammogram is read independently by two consultant breast radiologists?” the statement said.
“It is extremely hard to understand how the failure to detect abnormalities on four independent readings occurred and clearly indicates a process failure.”
He added: “The responsibility now rests with BreastCheck to provide the assurance to women in Ireland that such failures can never happen again.”
The case was ultimately settled and agreed.