A Leicestershire woman has been left "crying all the time" after she was allegedly not told she had lung cancer for more than a decade.  

By the time Leicester hospitals are said to have told Pamela Sadler about the diagnosis, the illness had progressed to the stage it was "untreatable", according to her family. 

Last October, Mrs Sadler, from Wigston, was told she "urgently" needed to see an oncologist after having blood tests.  

Her son Paul Knight told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that when the family went to the appointment, they were told her lung cancer had "grown to an excessive amount" and was now "untreatable" and "incurable". 

However, until that point, neither Mrs Sadler or her loved-ones knew she had lung cancer. Mr Knight said they all "sat there shocked" at the revelation as they had "never, ever been told" of this. 

The consultant allegedly went on to tell them the illness had first been diagnosed in a scan in 2013. The family claims they later learned the trust had found masses had spread to her other lung in 2020 but still did not tell them. They have filed a complaint with the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. 

Mr Knight said: "By the time it got to us finding out, they have now said it's untreatable and its incurable. So, we're sort of sitting and waiting now until, well, until mum passes away." 

He added: "Lung cancer is a very serious thing. To be told they can't treat it, they can't cure it, we just think if we had been told back in 2013 when this was diagnosed and mum's health was better, she possibly could have had some form of treatment or they could have operated on the lung. 

"He (the consultant) said they couldn't take half of her lung out because she's got respiratory problems now and she's got lymphoma and leukaemia. He said they can't operate on her because she wouldn't survive the operation, but back in 2013 when she was fitter, there possibly could have been that choice. 

"So, we just feel really hard done by […] It's just disgusting because now it's too late for us to make any options or future plans or choices. That's been taken away from us." 

Mrs Sadler told the LDRS she feels like the trust has "ruined [her] life" by not telling her about the lung cancer. She added: "I go to bed every night and I pray that I don't wake up in the morning. 

"I'm crying all the time. It's took what I had left. I know I'm 73, but I just don't want to do anything anymore. I don't want to go out, I don't want to do anything. My life's been ruined." 

"What gives them the right to withhold information from a patient when it's something crucial like cancer," she asked. 

Mr Knight said his mum has struggled to even get excited about the arrival of her new great-grandchild because she "doesn't want to think too far ahead". The family is still "stuck in limbo" waiting to find out how long Mrs Sadler has got left, he added, describing the cancer as a "ticking time bomb".

She had a scan this month to see how quickly the cancer was growing, but are yet to receive the results. 

Anger has grown in the family after UHL replied to the family's complaint, but Mr Knight said they did not feel the response answered their questions.

He added: "Somebody needs to be held accountable for this happening because who is to say it's not happened to somebody else or won't happen again? 

"How can it be shown on a scan in 2013, but they not tell the patient until 2024 that they've got lung cancer? How and why is that allowed to happen and has happened? We need answers." 

Andrew Furlong, medical director at UHL said: "We apologise for the distress that Pamela and her family have experienced. We are investigating their concerns, and our Patient Advice and Liaison Service continue to be in touch with them."