After months in which he thought he had prostate cancer and would most likely die, a 68-year-old man from Mirandela learnt that a laboratory made a mistake with his notes, and that he didn’t have cancer at all.
The bombshell came after the man had received hormone treatment that made his breasts grow and rendered him temporarily impotent.
Nine years later a court has ruled that the laboratory should pay €71,000 in damages for the anxiety, discomfort and distress caused.
The ‘nightmare’ only came to light when the man was submitted for surgery due to a urinary problem. Pre-operative tests showed him to be cancer free.
Portugal’s IPO cancer institute then traced the mix-up back to the laboratory.
The real cancer patient was found to be a much older man of 88-years-old, explains CM, not giving any further details on what happened to this man as a result of the time wasted and misdiagnosis.
