Leeds man who 'begged' for MRI scan dies from cancer

A man who had to "beg" to get an MRI scan because of the Covid-19 crisis has died of cancer, his family have said.

Sherwin Hall, 27, from Leeds, first went to hospital on 23 March suffering leg pain but was misdiagnosed and sent away with a course of antibiotics.

After 13 visits in four weeks a scan on 26 May revealed a tumour in his pelvis and 30 small tumours on his lungs.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said it had maintained scanning for all "urgent interventions".

Mr Hall's wife LaTroya said had his cancer been found sooner "it is likely he would still be here today".

Before his death, Mr Hall said he "kept begging" for a scan but was told services had been "slowed down because of the coronavirus".

In July, he featured in a special BBC Panorama programme Britain's Cancer Crisis.

Mrs Hall, who is being supported by the Catch Up With Cancer Campaign, said she was "devastated" and had "lost the love of my life".

The campaign was launched by the parents of Macclesfield beautician Kelly Smith who died after her treatment for bowel cancer was stopped as a result of the pandemic.

Mrs Hall said: "It worries me that the government and NHS leaders continue to say cancer services are back to normal; our family's experience has been that, even now, this is simply not the case.

"Even if services were back at pre-pandemic levels, that is not enough. The cancer backlog also needs to be cleared."

Cancer charity Macmillan Cancer Support estimated there was a backlog of 50,000 people living with undiagnosed cancer across the UK as a result of the pandemic.

A spokeswoman for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to Mr Hall's family at this very difficult time."

She said the trust had maintained scanning for all "urgent interventions" throughout the pandemic and had operated in accordance with Nice guidelines.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said cancer diagnosis and treatment had "remained a priority" during the pandemic and said the government had given £3bn to tackle the impact of Covid.

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