Wycombe Hospital says it is investigating a mum’s claim that doctors missed an 8cm cancerous lump - and now she's been given five years to live.

Rebecca Found, 34, from Princes Risborough, says she feels let down by the care of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust after a cancer diagnosis in 2021.

Aged 31, Rebecca first discovered a lump in her breast and was put on a course of chemo and radiotherapy. Following treatment, the NHS worker was given the all-clear after a mammogram and CT scan in March 2022.

Bucks Free Press:

One year on, in March 2023, Rebecca had an annual routine check-up in which mammogram results came back 'all clear'. However, a couple of weeks later, Rebecca felt another lump. 

As a result, Rebecca had a mastectomy in July during which a 4cm lump was removed and a further 8cm of cancer was discovered. 

She said all cancer found within the operation was undetected by the March mammogram.

A few days after the surgery Rebecca noticed spots on her skin but thought nothing of it due to the hot weather. The following September, she visited the hospital and was told the devastating news that the cancer had spread to her skin and could be 'managed but not cured'.

Rebecca believes signs were missed during check-ups and treatment was wrongly delayed following the September diagnosis.

She said: "Over Christmas, I started getting aches and pains. I saw an oncologist in January 2024. He was awful, he let me down several times.

"I had a phone consultation with him in January and he was talking to me about the medication I was on and he assumed I started therapy."

Rebecca believes this prompted a delay in her treatment and having then demanded a PET scan in Oxford was told the cancer had spread to her bones, lungs, and right side. She was diagnosed with stage 4 Metastatic breast cancer. 

She said: "I feel hurt and let down. Something needs to be done as it's a screening problem and it's not detecting anything.

"I don't think they should treat everyone the same, giving everyone a mammogram isn't the right option.

"This is my life they're playing with. I have a little boy and husband and now I'm not going to be here. They gave me a timeline and I feel hurt and upset.

Rebecca's dad Dominic, 56, has called for the NHS Trust to carry out a full independent review of his daughter's treatment.

He said: "We are absolutely distraught and destroyed. She's in so much pain. All of this could have been avoided."

Bucks Free Press:

Dominic has also branded the tragic situation 'de ja vu' as he believes Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust also failed to diagnose his wife Alison properly after she found a lump in her breast in 2015.

The pair lived in Marlow at the time before moving to Dorset.

After several months of chemotherapy in 2016, Rebecca's mum was told she was cancer-free. But then Alison felt pains in her left arm which she was initially told was Lymphoedema, a condition that causes swelling in the body's tissues. 

Dominic said: "She was then referred to the breast unit in Dorchester and doctors there asked 'why did Wycombe not do a full body CT scan at the end of treatment?'

"The look on their face. They said 'how did they know it was all clear?'

"My wife should have had that full MRI scan." 

The cancer had spread to Alison's brain and in 2019, she passed away aged 52.

"I truly believe the funding and equipment they use are dated and they're not trained to use it properly."

Adding: "They need fully functioning oncology equipment because I think it's a postcode lottery. 

"It's taken the whole family back several years, my wife died and that was a traumatic event for everyone. We were close as a family now and now it's de ja vu." 

Bucks NHS trust confirmed it is investigating Rebecca's care to see if 'anything could have been done differently'. 

A Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS trust spokesman said: “Our thoughts are with Mr Found, his daughter and their family following his daughter’s diagnosis.

"The Trust takes all complaints received extremely seriously and has begun an investigation to fully understand what happened at each stage of his daughter’s care and to see if there is anything we could have done differently.

"The family will be kept informed through this process."

The NHS spokesperson said it was unable to comment further due to patient privacy, and urged anyone with symptoms they are concerned about to contact their GP or NHS 11 for advice.