"Highly unlikely" Tayside cancer deaths down to lower chemo doses
A government officer made the comments in a letter to NHS Tayside last week
A medical expert reviewing the deaths of 14 breast cancer patients in Tayside says it’s “highly unlikely” lower chemotherapy doses were to blame.
The Scottish Government’s senior medical officer for oncology, Dr David Dunlop, made the comments in a letter to NHS Tayside.
The health board has been criticised for giving small doses of a drug to women to try and reduce side effects between 2016 and 2018.
Dr Dunlop said 11 of the patients who died already had aggressive forms of the disease.
NHS Tayside says the findings of his review were explained to the families involved back in April.
It also added that next of kin were offered the opportunity to discuss their relatives’ care.
Acting Medical Director at NHS Tayside, Professor Peter Stonebridge said: “These meetings with family members took place in April 2019.
“Dr Dunlop explained the findings of his review with the families involved.
“Dr Dunlop sent NHS Tayside the formal commentary of his review in a letter via email on 19 August 2019.
“His letter restated the information already shared with families in April 2019.
“In that letter he concluded that ‘the prognosis of the individual patients would have been unlikely to have been affected by a variation in administered chemotherapy.”
However, not everyone is pleased with the Dr Dunlop’s comments.
Lee Dennis is a breast cancer survivor from Perth who found NHS Tayside Cancer Care Support Group.
She’s not convinced by the findings: “Reading un-evidenced, glib statements about the likelihood of increased risk to cancer patients shows a concerning lack of hard science, empathy and understanding of the physical and emotional turmoil that such a diagnosis brings.”
His comments were revealed just days after an independent group made 19 recommendations to improve cancer care in Scotland.
It was after it emerged 304 women had been given lower chemotherapy doses.
The recommendations included making sure patients gave consent and were “explicitly informed” if their treatment differed from what was considered standard practice.