Hay underwent multiple tests before the suspected lung cancer diagnosis; however, a biopsy couldn’t be carried out due to Covid-19 pandemic restrictions at the time, the outlet noted.<\/p>\n
The mother of three recalled to the BBC, “I had to go home and tell my children and parents that I had cancer. I tried to be strong for them, but I just fell to pieces,” adding, “You hear the word cancer and you automatically think you’re going to die.”<\/p>\n
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Mark Kelly \/ Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n
A photo of the Doncaster Royal Infirmary in the U.K.<\/p>\n
Hay ended up having an operation in September 2020 to remove the lower lobe of her right lung, according to local outlet Doncaster Free Press<\/a>, which listed Hay’s name as Erica Flatley.<\/p>\n However, two weeks after the surgery, she was told that she didn’t have cancer, and the mass in her lung had been caused by pneumonia, the publication reported.<\/p>\n She said, \u201cAt my two-week review, the surgeon told me I was in the one percent of people who didn\u2019t have cancer, and that it was likely to have been an infection,” according to the outlet.<\/p>\n Hay, who has worked in the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) for over 30 years, continued, \u201cI was just as shocked to find out I didn\u2019t have cancer as I was when they first told me I did. At the end of the day, an infection can be treated with medication, I didn\u2019t need life-changing surgery,\u201d per the Doncaster Free Press.<\/p>\n She claimed that the operation has left her with breathing difficulties, telling the BBC: “I’ve had asthma since I was 17, but my respiratory problems have increased unbelievably since the surgery,” adding, “It’s completely floored me. Just talking or walking into the kitchen can set my symptoms off.”<\/p>\n “Sometimes I feel like my lungs are too heavy for my body, other times my breathing difficulties are so bad it’s like I’ve had the operation again,” Hay added to the outlet. “I am so very, very grateful that it wasn’t cancer, but I had to go through all of that and know this is probably never going to get any better now.”<\/p>\n “It affects my work, my daily living, and at times it makes me feel inadequate as a [mom] and a wife,” she continued.<\/p>\n Hay, who works as a neonatal nurse assistant at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, is now considering early retirement on health grounds, per the Doncaster Free Press.<\/p>\n Hay has since pursued a clinical negligence claim with Sheffield-based law firm Medical Solicitors, and the case was resolved with a settlement, a spokesperson for the company said, per the BBC. A spokesperson for Medical Solicitors noted that the hospital trusts involved hadn’t admitted liability or causation.<\/p>\n
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