Mother speaks of ordeal after cancer was missed

A mother-of-four has revealed she went through a traumatic double mastectomy after an eight month delay in breast cancer diagnosis.

Serena Russo, 54, from Worthing, said she found a lump in her breast in 2019 but was told her mammogram results were normal.

It was only when she persisted and asked for further tests that she was found to have a stage two tumour eight months later.

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSussex) has apologised and said it was committed to improving patient services.

After the initial mammogram, Mrs Russo said she received a letter which told her everything was fine.

However, she said the lump increased in size and a biopsy revealed it was cancer.

“They made me feel silly, worrying, but I wasn’t. I was doing the right thing,” she said.

Mrs Russo and her husband took legal action with Hudgell Solicitors against UHSussex.

The family was paid a six-figure out-of-court damages settlement for the trust's failings, according to the solicitors.

Mrs Russo's husband, Mark, said: “It is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me because I was powerless."

He said that, as it was during lockdown, he was unable to see her on four out of five occasions that she was being treated.

"I sat out in the car park for 25 hours just waiting to take her home,” he said.

In a statement, the trust told the BBC: "We extend our sincere apologies to Mrs Russo and her family and wish her the very best for the future.

"We remain committed to improving services for our patients.

"We are doing this through increased investment in staff and testing new technologies, to enable faster diagnoses and the highest standards of safety and quality."