Woman has life-changing surgery for aggressive cancer and then discovers she’s been misdiagnosed
A woman's life was turned upside down after she was told she has aggressive cancer and underwent surgery, only to later be told it was a mistake.
Cassandra Barksdale alleges that she was shockingly wrongly diagnosed with endometrial uterine cancer, leading to months of depression for her as well as her sons.
She has now filed a lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente, after the alleged mix-up horrifyingly saw Barksdale undergo an unnecessary hysterectomy.
After the surgery, she described how she endured months of both physical and emotional pain.
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Barksdale recalled how she feared the worst after being given the news: “I even started making funeral plans with them to let them know, you know, if I don’t make it out, this is what I want done,” Barksdale said.
Her lawsuit alleges that another patient's tissue sample was labelled as hers.
The incorrect test result meant she was told she had 'aggressive' cancer, leading to a full hysterectomy on May 15, 2025, at the age of 43.
She was also told she would be receiving chemotherapy following the surgery to fully remove it.
It is not known how the lab mix-up occurred.
Four months after the hysterectomy, Barksdale was told that a DNA analysis had been done on the tissue sample.
This analysis revealed the tissue actually belonged to a different patient, and not to her.
According to The Mirror, her attorney, Shannan Young, said: "She came into Kaiser Permanente looking for answers, and she left with a diagnosis that did not belong to her. And every step that was taken after that was based off of misinformation."
Barksdale first attended the Kaiser Permanente clinic in March 2025, after she had been experiencing heavy bleeding and fibroids.
Fibroids are non-cancerous growths, which can be located in and around the uterus.
After her visit, she was sent for a biopsy of tissue on March 10, 2025, before the biopsy results came in a week later, which allegedly incorrectly revealed a cancer diagnosis.
Representatives for Kaiser Permanente shared a statement: “Ms. Barksdale should not have experienced this.”
“We have highly trained staff and very thorough processes in place to prevent errors like this from taking place. After this occurred last year, we took immediate steps to ensure it could not happen again," they continued.
"We realize the impact of this incident and are committed to working with Ms. Barksdale and her counsel to resolve this in the most fair and accountable way we can.”
Her attorney responded: “There’s no amount of money that’s going to return back to her, her healthy organs, or erase the experiences and the pain that she’s had. But our justice system recognizes that when somebody’s negligence harms another person, accountability requires more than ‘I’m sorry."
It follows the news that an Australian grandmother was left 'mutilated' following a surgery mix-up, which saw a large portion of her genitalia being removed instead of a cancerous skin lesion in her pelvic area.
Topics: Health, Mental Health, Women's Health, News
Jen Thomas