A WOMAN who developed incurable breast cancer after she says doctors told her a lump was nothing to worry about is suing for damages of £250,000.

Dawn Hodgson is suffering from cancer which has spread throughout her bones, and has a diminished life expectancy.

The 48-year-old, who now lives in France, is now suing Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and locum GP Dr Susan Bailey.

Mrs Hodgson claims that despite a family history of breast cancer, healthcare professionals failed to investigate a breast lump for three years and repeatedly reassured her other symptoms were nothing to worry about. By 2007 she was in unbearable pain and tests showed an incurable breast cancer had spread to her bones.

She has undergone six courses of chemotherapy and continues to take hormone therapy.

Mrs Hodgson said she went to the De Montfort Medical Centre in Evesham in 2004.

After a mammogram, radiologist Dr Bailey reported “no significant changes, no evidence of malignancy”, according to a High Court writ.

Despite family history – her maternal grandmother died from breast cancer and her younger sister was diagnosed with the condition at the age of 37 – no ultrasound or other investigation into a lesion was carried out.

She consulted a surgeon at Worcestershire Royal Hospital about the discharge, but he reassured her the symptoms were benign and wrote to her GP saying the mammogram was “normal”.

In April 2005 she consulted Dr Bailey about a small lump in her right breast, but the GP said the lump was nothing to worry about.

There were no recommendations for a follow up, according the the writ.

Mrs Hodgson went on to tell staff at the breast clinic about the lump and consult more healthcare professionals, but no other tests were carried out and she continued to take contraceptive pills until December 2006.

By April 2007 Mrs Hodgson started to suffer pain in her chest wall, followed by weight loss, and pain in her back and joints. By July 2008 the pain was unbearable and a full body scan carried out in France revealed metastatic bone cancer.

In August 2008 tests showed she had breast cancer too.

Branding the trust negligent, Mrs Hodgson said it failed to pick up the dense lesion from the mammogram in 2004 and failed to investigate her breast lump.

She said Dr Bailey was also negligent, in failing to tell of her the need to have her lump reviewed, inappropriately reassuring her that the lump was not of concern, and relying on the fact that she was due to attend a breast screening clinic when she needed management by a specialist breast team.

She believes that if the original mammogram had been interpreted correctly, tests would have led to breast cancer being diagnosed and treated, she would have stopped taking the contraceptive pill and would have had an excellent prognosis for survival.

She is also seeking damages for unnecessary pain and suffering during the period of delayed diagnosis.

The writ has been issued by solicitor Richard Money- Kyrle of Darbys.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust was unable to comment at the time the Worcester News went to press.