Andalusia admits errors in breast cancer diagnosis of 2,000 women

Up to 2,000 women in Andalusia don't know if they have breast cancer due to a misdiagnosis. This is the tragic assessment made by Juanma Moreno's administration, a member of the People's Party (PP), after admitting that they performed dubious and, therefore, inconclusive tests on these patients. The Andalusian government has announced that starting this Thursday, they will contact them "one by one" to repeat the tests. Those affected received results stating that a "probably benign lesion" had been detected through the early detection program, the objective of which is to identify cases as early as possible to quickly treat the disease and improve the prognosis for patients. But that conclusion could have been erroneous. The Andalusian Regional Government has now acknowledged that those affected "may not have been informed" of a positive result, so they will be called back for a new test.

"In Andalusia, we have a solid, protocol-based breast screening program that works well," defended the Andalusian Health Minister, Rocío Hernández, this Thursday after meeting with the Association of Women with Breast Cancer (AMAMA), which has denounced the situation of those affected. According to the department headed by Hernández, 98% of doubtful cases of breast cancer end with a benign diagnosis. Furthermore, the association asserts that this situation has already meant that some cases have begun treatment later than expected and has demanded that responsibility be clarified after the "error" in the screening, which has resulted in a disservice to these women. Many of those affected still do not know whether their result is positive or negative. "It is terrible that women live with that fear," said the president of the association, Ángela Claverol.

One year delay in diagnosis

The meeting between the association and the Ministry of Health was also attended by some of those affected, such as Anabel Cano, who learned she had cancer a year after her first mammogram. Her breast will have to be removed in a few days due to this delay, and Amama's lawyer, Manuel Jiménez Soto, has called on the Andalusian Regional Government to make public "who made a mistake" and caused this situation. The Amama Association is considering filing a class-action lawsuit once the one-month deadline they had set for themselves to have all the data and understand the magnitude of the problem has expired.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women worldwide and the second most common in both sexes. The International Agency for Research on Cancer warns thatThe incidence will continue to rise if prevention, detection, and treatment measures are not intensified. By 2050, breast cancer cases will increase by 38% and patient mortality will rise by 68%, according to a projection by this agency linked to the World Health Organization (WHO).