Inquiry demanded into delayed diagnosis

The family of a 31 year old man who died from Cancer demands an inquiry to find out why his illness took 37 hospital visits to be diagnosed.

Medway NHS Trust, where Peter Cura was diagnosed more than a year after his first appointment there, have admitted there was “a delay in diagnosing renal cancer”.

The trust released a statement saying: “This is a tragic case and we would like to extend our deepest sympathy. Measures have been put in place to address the issues raised, to prevent the possibility of similar cases.”

Mr Cura first attended the hospital in April 2002 and had scans in June and October that year, the correct diagnosis of cancer was not given until July 2003. He was repeatedly told that the back pain he was suffering was caused by kidney stones.

A 3in tumour was only found after the removal of his left kidney and a total of six operations.

Mr Cura had launched legal action against Medway NHS Trust last year because he was angry about the way he had been treated, saying at the time about his doctor: “I asked him on two different occasions if it was cancer and he said no.”

He was awarded an undisclosed sum in an out-of-court settlement, after the trust took more than a year to admit its mistake.