Inquest told of Wigan mum's death from ‘silent killer’ cancer

Wigan Council worker Samantha Doran was 46 when she died on June 30 last year, nearly four weeks after being admitted to Wigan Infirmary.

An inquest at Bolton Coroner’s Court heard doctors had found a mass that they suspected could be cancerous.

But her health deteriorated so quickly that they were not able to carry out a biopsy to establish what kind it was or begin treatment.

Ms Doran, of Vulcan Drive in Scholes, had been in fairly good health, but in April last year, she felt a “pop” in her lower back when leaning over to paint her toenails and a pain in her groin.

She continued working as an admissions manager in the council’s education department, but the pain worsened, spread to her left leg and she even started to use crutches.

Ms Doran was given painkillers by her GP and went to see a physiotherapist, but the treatment did not help.

She went to A&E in May as she was in so much pain, and was advised to go back to her GP for different medication.

She also had a pelvic scan, which did not reveal anything abnormal.

The inquest heard Ms Doran was taken to Wigan Infirmary’s A&E unit by ambulance on June 3 in a lot of pain and was admitted to a ward.

Doctors tried to address her pain, which was thought to be caused by a mass compressing her spine, and she had various scans and tests.

Her daughter Rhiannon Doran said they were told she probably had a haematoma – a collection of blood – and it was only on June 11 when they were first told she could have sarcoma, a form of cancer.

But a radiologist told the inquest that scans on June 4 had revealed a mass next to her spine, which could be haematoma or a tumour. A cyst was found in her left ovary.

From further scans on June 9, the mass on her ovary was thought to be suspicious and small nodules were found in her lung. It was thought she could have ovarian cancer or sarcoma that had spread.

The inquest heard the case was to be considered by a sarcoma multi-disciplinary team (MDT), which was done on June 26, as the referral came too late for an earlier meeting.

The MDT recommended the diagnosis be confirmed by carrying out a biopsy.

Naweed Shahid, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, told the inquest a confirmed diagnosis of sarcoma was needed before treatment could begin.

But Ms Doran’s condition had deteriorated while she in hospital and she was not well enough for a biopsy.

She was confused, her pain was increasing, a blood clot was found in her leg and she had a urinary tract infection.

Her family raised concerns about sepsis, after reading leaflets in the hospital.

Medics worked to treat her symptoms, but told her family she was very unwell and suggested the use of a do not resuscitate order. Ms Doran was moved to the high dependency unit, but her condition continued to deteriorate and it was there she died at 6.11pm on June 30.

Pathologist Dr Naveen Sharma, who carried out a post-mortem examination, said her cause of death was disseminated ovarian cancer.

It had spread to other organs, including her lungs and liver, and she also had a haematoma.

Describing it as a “silent killer”, Dr Sharma said: “Ovarian cancers sadly can spread very fast. Sadly, also they present late because they often have non-specific symptoms.”

He did not find any signs of sepsis, saying it is usually diagnosed in life, and the only infection was a mild bronchopneumonia.

Questions were raised about whether she could have survived if she was diagnosed earlier and started treatment, but the inquest heard it was a very aggressive cancer.

Coroner Rachel Syed recorded a conclusion of natural causes.

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