Another woman who recently discovered she had breast cancer despite being given the all-clear by the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise came forward last night.
The Co Laois woman sought further tests herself after the review of about 3,000 mammograms at the hospital was announced at the end of August. She discovered three weeks ago she has cancer with secondaries.
The HSE confirmed last Friday that seven women given the all-clear had breast cancer. It said last night that further tests are being carried out on 19 women to see if they were correctly diagnosed. Their results are expected later this week.
Following a report on RTÉ News that the latest Co Laois woman to come forward was a new victim, Minister for Health Mary Harney praised her bravery.
The woman told RTÉ News she would never trust anyone in the health service in Portlaoise again. She said she was given the all-clear after a mammogram at Portlaoise in July, but sought new tests at St Vincent's hospital, Dublin, in September and was then diagnosed. "I think it's a scandal . . . it's going to be a long road for me, that's all I know, and for my family as well because we're devastated," she said.She urged any woman with breast cancer to go to one of the big hospitals specialising in it.
Ms Harney said the woman had done a public service by speaking out, and that what happened in Portlaoise should not have. "It has happened because of our failure in the past to put in place centres of excellence, which could never have happened under the old health board regime," she said.
She supported the view of Prof Brendan Drumm, head of the HSE, that people were resisting centres of excellence for cancer care. Prof Drumm was criticised for suggesting Portlaoise would have better services were it not for local marches.
Mary O'Rourke, the local Fianna Fáil TD, said: "It's absolutely insensitive to say . . . you're all misdiagnosed because people are marching. They're misdiagnosed because somebody misdiagnosed them."