Hamilton man misdiagnosed with stage four lung cancer

TORONTO – A Hamilton, Ontario man is demanding answers after he was misdiagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

Larry Reece, 46, sought medical help to treat a persistent cough that began in 2013. Doctors at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton performed a CT scan and diagnosed him with Sarcoidosis earlier in 2014.

But it was a lung biopsy conducted by the same hospital in the Spring that found Reece had stage four lung cancer and only months to live.

“How could this be happening to me, why me?” said Reece, a married father of two girls. “I’m not going to see my family, I’m not going to see my daughters grow up.”

Reece then had to break the news to his wife and daughters. As a non-smoker in good health, his family had a hard time accepting the news

“My daughters saying ‘are you sure?’” said Reece recounting that emotional day. “My youngest screaming and all that.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "My daughters saying 'are you sure?'" said Reece recounting that emotional day. "My youngest screaming and all that."

Reece was supposed to undergo chemotherapy at the Hamilton Health Sciences Juravinski Cancer Centre, but before he began treatment he sought a second opinion.

Through a program funded by his employer, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Reece had another blood test and biopsy conducted by doctors in the United States. By July, Reece and his family received bombshell news: the new round of tests found no evidence of cancer in Reece’s body.

It was an unexpected twist to such a grim diagnosis. And the explanation hospital officials in Hamilton have given is unsettling to Reece.

Doctors say it was a mishap in the lab.

“We know which patient’s tissue appeared on Mr. Reece’s slide. That patient has received appropriate care,” said Dr. Richard McLean, the executive vice president of Inter-professional Affairs at Hamilton Health Sciences.

“It’s just in the processing of the slides that tissue ended up on Mr. Reece’s slide. How that happened we don’t know.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's just in the processing of the slides that tissue ended up on Mr. Reece's slide. How that happened we don't know."

Hospital officials assure patients this type of error is extremely rare and they are now investigating what happened.

“We are deeply sorry for what happened to Mr. Reece,” said Dr. Hugh Fuller, vice president of Medical Affairs and chief medical officer at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. “It’s not something we would want anyone to go through.”

In the end, Reece’s cancer diagnosis turned out to be sarcoidosis, a condition treatable with medication.

He now hopes to get an apology from the hospital for the emotional roller coaster he and his family endured this past year.

Reece now stresses the importance of getting a second opinion.

“Go for a second opinion if you think this isn’t right,” said Reece. “That gut feeling sometimes might be right.”