Tamara Bomford-Smith was 12 when she died after a consultant at Lincoln County Hospital failed to pick up a tumour in her lung.
Her mother, Karen Bomford, 52, of Boothby Graffoe, Lincoln, said: “No tumour is acceptable to be missed. I’m so very, very angry. I took this legal action so I could speak out about it. Something’s got to be done to raise awareness of this negligence so we can save other children from dying from this disease.”
Tamara was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a cancer of the bone, when she was 10. She underwent surgery to replace the cancerous bone with a metal prostheses. Following chemotherapy, Tamara was in remission less than a year later. However on 2 January 2008 Miss Bromford took her daughter to the A&E Department of Lincoln County Hospital after Tamara had been complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath due to a fall.
“I was acutely aware that osteosarcoma patients could develop lung cancer so I took Tamara to hospital over every little thing to make sure she was tested, so if there was a tumour there it would be operated on quickly and she’d live,” Miss Bomford said. “People thought I was stupid, but I felt if there was a tumour there the hospital will see it, I had complete trust in them.”
Miss Bomford and her daughter were advised that the x-ray taken was clear and there was nothing to be concerned about.
At a doctor’s appointment later that month at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, Miss Bomford explained that an x-ray had been performed at Lincoln County Hospital. Consequently her doctor did not request a further x-ray but advised that he would obtain the x-ray from colleagues in Lincoln. He wrote to Lincoln County Hospital however he never received any response.
“In my mind I feel I’ve let her down,” Miss Bomford said. “I put all my trust in the hospital.”
A second x-ray at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham in March revealed nodules on the left lung. She died in September.
Miss Bomford warned other parents to be pro-active with doctors.
“You’ve really got to be pushy. I took Tamara to the doctors four or five times before she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. They said it was a pulled tendon, then degeneration of the knee. Then one night she was crying in pain and I thought this is ridiculous and I said to them it’s got to be x-rayed, it’s gone on too long. I had no idea it was cancer. I thought they missed a broken bone. It was so intermittent, one day she was just fine and the next day she was limping and sore. You’ve got to go on and on at the doctor, even if you’re worried you’re over reacting - ask for that x-ray.”
Andrew Cragg, an associate in the Claimant Personal Injury and Medical Negligence department at Langleys who represented Miss Bomford, said: “It is accepted that it is unlikely that earlier diagnosis would have resulted in Tamara surviving but a diagnosis four months earlier would have meant that she would have been spared pain and suffering and her life would have been extended with proper treatment. Miss Bomford and the rest of the family are clearly devastated by the death of Tamara and they find it more difficult to accept Tamara’s death in view of the failure to report the x-ray correctly.”
Miss Bomford took legal action to raise awareness of the hospital’s breach of duty.
“I feel I owe it to Tamara,” she said. “I feel she’s been totally let down. She was breathless, which was clearly one of the symptoms that it had spread to her lungs but because I was told the x-rays were all clear, it was felt I must be imagining things. I felt like I let her down. The survival rate I was told was 65% but it just isn’t. These children are dying because it’s not being caught when it spreads. The doctors should be a lot more careful with those x-rays. I can’t get my head around why if one consultant can see it why can’t others? If it’s there it’s there. I’m so angry about the fact they missed it. I cannot accept that. And it will happen to other children unless I - or somebody - speaks out. It’s crucial that those who have lost a loved one because of any kind of medical neglect takes on a legal battle so they don’t get away with it. I want to stop this happening to someone else’s child.”
Osteosarcoma – The Facts
Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer, and the sixth most common type of cancer in children.
The most common symptoms of osteosarcoma are pain and swelling in a child's leg or arm.
In osteosarcoma of the leg, the child may also develop an unexplained limp. In some cases, the first sign of the disease is a broken arm or leg, because the cancer has weakened the bone to make it vulnerable to a break. If your child or teen has any of the above symptoms, it's important to see a doctor
Osteosarcoma is one of the few cancers that begin in bones and sometimes spreads elsewhere, usually to the lungs or other bones.
It most commonly affects teens who are experiencing a growth spurt. Boys are more likely to have osteosarcoma than girls, and most cases of osteosarcoma involve the knee. Evidence shows that teens who are taller than average have an added risk for developing the disease.
There are no current preventative measures against osteosarcoma.