A week ago, 31-year-old Gabriella Patey was said to have advanced stage breast cancer and was expected to only survive for a few months.
Also armed with a “stricken diagnosis” that claimed her mother's life, Patie began speaking to her family and friends, and preparing for the end of life.
“I filed a claim through a bank for serious illness insurance and put my name on the list for a medically supported death,” said a Halifax area woman.
“I just accepted it. This is what it is and it's totally devastating.”
However, a few days later, Patey's family doctor called with shocking news.
“I got another call from my primary care doctor. In fact, I had a serious patient error at the IWK (health center), and the files with the harsh diagnosis didn't even belong to me,” she said.
“I really didn't believe her. Why should I do? Did they make this mistake once?
Initially, the tumor was said to be benign.
Patey first discovered a breast mass in October 2023, just weeks after her mother died of breast cancer.
She went to the breast health clinic at IWK Health Center in Halifax for a year and had multiple ultrasound examinations.
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“Through the whole process, I said, 'You know, are you choosing a mastectomy for my history?” They said Quote-Unquote, 'We're not there yet.' ”
She received a biopsy of tissue from her left breast at the end of April this year.
On May 17, Patie said she received a call on “great news” and was told that the tumor was benign and there were no traces of breast cancer.
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“My husband and I were clearly celebrating. We told all our friends and family, it was just such a great relief.”
Two and a half weeks later, on June 4th, her family doctor called to tell her that she had made a mistake and had in fact had cancer. The devastating news came just five days after she successfully treated her thyroid cancer.
Patey provided Global News with a copy of his written biopsy results that he found out he had “invasive ductal carcinoma” in his “breast tissue (the upper left lateral quadrant mass)”.
She believes in her family doctor, who works part-time IWK, for her pursuit of the truth about her diagnosis.
By Friday, two days after her terminal diagnosis, her family doctor confirmed that it was indeed an error.
According to a Patey lab report, “breast tissue (left breast volume of 10-12 o'clock)” had “benign breast tissue” which was “negative for in situ and invasive malignant tumors.”
Additionally, her family doctor physically went to IWK and checked the slides.
“The director of the Pathology Department spoke directly to my primary care physician … and verbally admitted that it was a serious patient error,” she said.
“They are investigating it, but she can't comment anymore because it's an ongoing investigation. So I don't know if the other women have found it, but they have not admitted anything to me on paper.”
At this point, Patey is unsure about her biopsy results and wants to receive something in writing.
“The first thing I'm looking for is an apology.”
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Patty said she suspects Nova Scotia's health care system and is pursuing legal action.
But the first thing she wanted was an explanation and an apology.
“I called them 17 times, left multiple messages. I filed a complaint with the Nova Scotia Health Department, and filed a complaint with IWK through Patient Advocate Services.
“I don't think I even knew about this error. At this point, I'm not a system number somewhere without a primary care doctor looking at me like a real person.”
Patie received a call from an IWK representative on Tuesday, confirming the error and apologising. They said the written explanation was coming.
Through it, Patie said she and her family were left hurt by what happened.
“It's absolutely devastating to get such a diagnosis. I had to look at my husband in the face and tell him,” she said.
“(We) have all these plans for our future. (I might not be here to make those plans with you,” he said, meaning we cry to sleep every night.”
And the fact that another woman and her family are there affected by this error weighs heavily on her.
“What's broken in my heart is that a poor woman is walking around thinking she has breast tumors and has cancer. She's terminally ill and may not have thought,” she said.
“If this happened to me, who else will it happen and who else will it happen? Something has to be in place so this will never happen to anyone again.”
In a statement to Global News, a spokesman for IWK Health said “concerns of this nature are being taken seriously.”
“Due to patient privacy, IWK Health is unable to comment on specific cases,” wrote spokesman Andrea Slaney.
“However, concerns about this nature are taken seriously, followed by a formal investigation process from the IWK quality, patient safety and patient experience team.”
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