‘I’ve only 2 months to live after doctors missed my cancer’

A woman who claims doctors told her that back pain was just a slipped disc, has been given two months to live after it emerged she has spinal cancer which has spread to her brain.

Linda Hind has spinal cancer which has spread to her brain. Picture: TSPL

Linda Hind, 63, from Edrom in Duns, in the Scottish Borders, said she was speaking to The Scotsman about her ordeal to expose what she said was ten months of being misdiagnosed at Borders General Hospital.

She said she wanted to make sure no-one else “suffered in the same way”.

“When I was told I had only two months left it broke my heart. I know I won’t see my grandchildren grow up and I’ll miss all their milestones.”

Mrs Hind also said a neurosurgeon at the Western General in Edinburgh which she said she “begged” to be referred to, told her in the past few weeks that “had you got here six months earlier I could have done something.”

NHS Borders said it was attempting to contact Mrs Hind to discuss her case and review the care provided.

Mrs Hind said those responsible for her lack of treatment need to be held accountable.

“What I want is for them to tell the truth, do their job properly and diagnose patients as they are meant to do. I just don’t want them to have the opportunity to do this to someone else. Had I treated my dog like that I’d be in prison.”

Mrs Hind, a former telephonist, said she was admitted to Borders General Hospital on around two or three occasions after hurting her back in mid- September 2018 and experiencing excruciating and continuous pain. She was given a scan and diagnosed with a slipped disc in November last year.

She said she was given painkillers and TENS pain relief and sent home but that the pain got much worse.

“The pain got worse and worse and. I live by myself so there was no way I could cope. One time they discharged me at lunch time and I was back in that early that evening.

“Another time, someone, perhaps a neighbour, made a 999 call and got me back into the hospital.

“I’ve always been a tough person. Anyone who knows me knows I don’t complain. If I need to go to the doctor I need to go, it’s not a social thing.”

“At one stage it was so bad they had to tie me to the bed.

“A few months ago I got a letter from the hospital saying that they’d X-rayed me before Christmas but had forgotten to follow it up.

“If they’re idiot enough to admit they’ve done wrong then I’m sensible enough to do something about it while what’s left of my mind is still working.”

“Then in June I was seen by a consultant at Borders General who actually had a brain. He said to me ‘Linda, I’m not happy with these notes, there’s something wrong here. Please give me five-ten minutes to read them.’

“He had definitely clocked something was very wrong.”

Mrs Hind added that she and her family were now considering legal action against NHS Borders.

In a statement NHS Borders said: “The care and treatment of all our patients is a priority for NHS Borders.

“Whilst we cannot comment in public on individual cases because of patient confidentiality we are sincerely sorry to hear about Ms Hind’s illness and the concerns she has raised.

“We are trying to contact Ms Hind to offer a meeting to review the care she received and give her the opportunity to discuss her experience with us.”