# Winnipeg Woman Accuses Doctors of Negligence After Cancer Spreads Quickly A Winnipeg woman who was given a life expectancy of six months after cancer spread from her lungs to her brain, liver and other organs says the disease's progression could have been prevented if two doctors had detected it earlier. ## Doctors Failed to Rule Out Cancer on Initial CT Scan The woman accuses a respirologist and diagnostic radiologist of negligence after they failed to rule out the possibility she had cancer and send her for medical followup. In a statement of claim filed at the Manitoba Court of King's Bench on May 27, the woman claims the defendants didn't properly interpret the results of a computed tomography (CT) scan ordered to screen for the disease, nor did they perform a differentiating diagnosis, including suspecting cancer as the cause of her symptoms. The woman's cancer — which has metastasized to her brain, liver, spleen, sternum and enlarged lymph node — resulted from a small mark on her lung, the lawsuit claims. That mark was there when the CT scan was performed in July 2024, but she wasn't told at the time she had cancer. Instead, the woman was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was told the mark resembled emphysema, a lung condition that causes shortness of breath. ## First CT Scan Was Ordered for Lung Cancer Screening The lawsuit says the woman's first CT scan was ordered after she had a consultation with the respirologist in November 2023. At that time, the paperwork for the scan indicated that it was for lung cancer screening. The medical imaging was done in July 2024 at the Selkirk Regional Health Centre. The scan was sent to the diagnostic radiologist for review, and in August 2024, the woman went for a followup appointment to discuss the findings. The radiologist's findings said the scan showed the woman had small pulmonary nodules and pulmonary emphysematous changes, and as a precaution, a followup examination could be done in a year. The respirologist recommended new inhalers and that the woman quit smoking. Her coughing worsened, and at a followup appointment in October, the doctor told her that was consistent with the progression of her chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the start of emphysema.