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Breast Cancer Lawsuit Alleged Needless Suffering, Death

$17.5 million settlement reached in Newfoundland, Labrador suit

By Jon Hood
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 2, 2009

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A $17.5 million preliminary settlement has been reached in a lawsuit alleging severe flaws in a Canadian health care provider's breast cancer screening. Hormone receptor tests administered by Eastern Health Corp. returned scores of incorrect results over an eight-year period, leading to needlessly harsh treatment for hundreds of breast cancer patients, and may have contributed to over a hundred deaths.

The deal between Eastern Health Corp. and breast cancer patients in the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador came after three days of mediation supervised by a former Ontario judge.

Doctors routinely order hormone receptor tests for newly-diagnosed breast cancer sufferers, and use them to determine the best course of treatment. Patients with tumors that test positive for estrogen and progesterone generally have a better prognosis, partly because such tumors grow more slowly.

Additionally, patients whose tumors are being strengthened by estrogen and progesterone can be treated with anti-estrogen prescription drugs, such as Tamoxifen and Anastrozole. Patients with negative test results generally have to resort to far harsher treatments, including chemotherapy and radiation.

According to the suit, at least 425 breast cancer patients were given incorrect hormone test results between 1997 and 2005. A number of these patients underwent chemotherapy and surgery even though their cancer could likely have been treated with anti-estrogen drugs. The suit was brought on behalf of approximately 2,000 patients tested during the relevant period.

Over 100 patients who received incorrect results have died. While it's impossible to say that hormone testing would have saved their lives, it's a possibility that's hard to ignore.

In addition to the $17.5 million, the settlement mandates the creation of a panel to implement recommended changes to Eastern Health's breast cancer protocol. Under the terms of the agreement, victims of Eastern Health's botched tests will be given seats on the committee and a consultant will give a report on the panel's progress in 2012. Eastern Health is also required to construct a memorial and issue a public apology.

Eastern Regional Integrated Health Authority CEO Vicki Kaminski immediately broadcast that apology. “The class members are sincere, honest people who have been wronged and harmed, and this settlement is meant as a sincere apology to them,” Kaminski said in a statement. She added that “no amount of money can adequately compensate people who have experienced this kind of error in their medical treatment.”

How the money will be disbursed, and how much will be picked up by Eastern Health insurer Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada, won't be announced until the settlement is formally approved by the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Eastern Health describes itself as “the largest integrated health authority in Newfoundland and Labrador,” the coastal province in northeastern Canada.

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