HIGH
HIGH GRADE. >> THE PEOPLE WHO RUN SWEDISH
MEDICAL CENTER ARE LESS THAN
EXCITED FOR YOU TO HEAR THIS
COLORADAN STORY.
COLORADAN STORY. WHAT HAPPENED INSIDE THAT
HOSPITAL LAST YEAR, THEIR
LEADERSHIP TOLD US JUST TODAY
WAS RARE AND UNFORTUNATE.
BUT THE FACT IS IT COULD HAPPEN
TO ANYONE INSIDE ANY HOSPITAL IN
THE COUNTRY.
THE COUNTRY. FOR THIS ONE WOMAN, IT WAS LIFE
CHANGING IN SO MANY WAYS MORE
THAN ONE.
THAN ONE.
THAN ONE. >> 9WANTS TO KNOW CHRIS HAS HER
STORY.
STORY.
STORY. ONE THAT MIGHT VERY WELL SERVED
AS WARNING FOR COUNTLESS OTHERS
FACING A SIMILAR DIAGNOSIS.
>> THE DIAGNOSIS WAS A DREAM
KILLER.
KILLER.
KILLER. >> I HAD UTERINE CANCER.
I WAS DESTROYED.
>> MICROSCOPIC HIGH GRADE.
>> YEAH, TERRIFIED.
AND SO HEARTBROKEN.
>> AND STAGGERINGLY AGGRESSIVE.
>> I COULDN'T BELIEVE WE WERE IN
THAT PLACE.
THAT PLACE. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT.
SO, AT THAT POINT MY -- MY GOAL
WAS TO SURVIVE.
>> THEY ALWAYS DREAMED OF A
LARGE FAMILY.
LARGE FAMILY. THE FIRST ARRIVED NOT LONG
AFTER.
AFTER.
AFTER. >>
AFTER. >> I MADE IT.
184 STAIRS TO THE TOP OF THE
STATUTE OF LIBERTY.
>> HELLO.
>> HELLO.
>> HELLO. >> NOT LONG AFTER THIS VISIT TO
NEW YORK CITY.
>> BABY CAMILLA MADE IT TOO.
>> THEY ASSUMED CAMILLA WOULD BE
FOLLOWED BY OTHERS.
>> I JUST FIGURED IT WOULD BE
THE SAME AND IT WASN'T.
MONTH AFTER MONTH OF NEGATIVE
TESTS, IT WAS HEARTBREAKING.
>> TWO YEARS INTO IT A DOCTOR
RECOMMENDED A NUMBER OF ROUTINE
TESTS.
TESTS.
TESTS. >>
TESTS. >> I JUST THOUGHT -- WE GOT TO
FIGURE THIS OUT.
>> A TINY SLIVER OF CELLS INSIDE
SWEDISH MEDICAL CENTER A LAB
ISOLATED THEM.
ISOLATED THEM. >> IF FIRST THING THE FIRST
THING I THOUGHT OF
IS I CAN'T HAVE ANYMORE
CHILDREN.
CHILDREN.
CHILDREN. >> SWEDISH SENT THE CELLS TO
JOHN HOPKINS.
JOHN HOPKINS. MORE BAD NEWS, THE CANCER WAS
SPREADING
SPREADING
SPREADING >> THEY TELL ME NOT TO LOOK IT
UP BUT IT HAD A 30 TO 50%
SURVIVAL RATE.
SURVIVAL RATE. WHEN I READ THAT IT JUST -- MY
HEART DROPPED.
HEART DROPPED. >> SO EVERYONE AGREED ONLY A
SURGERY WOULD SAVE HER LIFE.
>> UM, THEY DID A FULL
HYSTERECTOMY.
HYSTERECTOMY. THEY TOOK OUT EVERYTHING.
>> EVERYTHING.
>> EVERYTHING. >> YOU COULD JUST SEE A SENSE OF
SADNESS COME OVER HER.
I KNOW ITS BECAUSE SHE WON'T
EVER BE ABLE TO BE PREGNANT
AGAIN OR CARRY ANOTHER BABY.
>> YET THERE WAS GOOD NEWS.
DOCTORS CALLED THE SURGERY A
SUCCESS.
SUCCESS.
SUCCESS. SHE WAS CANCER FREE.
>> IN THE SAME BREATH I LOOKED
AT MY ONCOLOGY AND SAID I DON'T
UNDERSTAND THIS.
UNDERSTAND THIS. >> HER REMOVED ORGANS SHOULD
HAVE SHOWN OBVIOUS SIGNS OF
CANCER.
CANCER.
CANCER. >> THERE WAS NOTHING.
>> NOTHING.
>> NOTHING. SO A DECISION WAS MADE AT
TAYLOR'S REQUEST TO TEST THE DNA
OF THE CELLS IF THE ONLY SEE IF
THESE CELLS WERE HER CELLS.
>> I KNEW IT WAS EITHER A
MIRACLE OR SOMEONE MADE A
MISTAKE.
MISTAKE.
MISTAKE. >> THE RESULTS SPELLED OUT IN
THIS REPORT CONCLUDED THIS SLIDE
CONTAINED THE CELLS OF TWO
DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
DIFFERENT PEOPLE. ONE HAD CANCER.
THE OTHER DID NOT.
>> NO CANCER.
NO CANCER AT ALL.
>> NEVER HAD IT.
>> SOMEHOW IN THE LAB, SOMEONE
ELSE'S CANCEROUS CELLS CAME TON
HER SLIDE.
HER SLIDE. SWEDISH CALLED IT A CON
CONTAMINANT.
CONTAMINANT. >> EVERYDAY -- I STILL CAN'T
BELIEVE IT.
BELIEVE IT. AND FOR NO GOOD REASON.
I THOUGHT I WAS SAVING MY LIFE
AND -- IT WAS COMPLETELY
UNNECESSARY.
UNNECESSARY. >> UNNECESSARY ALL DUE TO
SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS ALL OVER
THE UNITED STATES.
>> OUR RESEARCH SHOWS THAT NO
PATIENT CARE ENVIRONMENT, NO
LABORATORY ENVIRONMENT IS FREE
FROM THESE ERRORS.
>> WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
PROFESSOR DR. JOHN HAS DONE ONE
OF THE MOST EXTENSIVE STUDIES ON
THIS PROBLEM TO DATE.
HE FOUND LAB CONTAMINATIONS
HAPPEN ONE TO TWO PERCENT OF THE
TIME A. SMALL PERCENTAGE YES,
BUT NOT SMALL IN TERMS OF SHEER
VOLUME THANKS TO THE MILLIONS OF
BIOPSIES DONE IN THE U.S. EVERY
YEAR
YEAR
YEAR >>
YEAR >> POTENTIALLY THERE ARE A LARGE
NUMBER OF PEOPLE, PATIENTS IN
THE UNITED STATES WHO WOULD BE
IMPACTED BY THESE TYPES OF
LABORATORY ERRORS.
LABORATORY ERRORS. >> HE BELIEVES WHEN LAB TESTS
TURN UP UNEXPECTED RESULTS A
$300 LAB TEST SHOULD BE DONE
BEFORE ANY INVASIVE SURGERY
>> THE RESULT CAN COME BACK IN A
TIME FRAME THAT IS SHORT ENOUGH
TO ACTUALLY BE USE IN PLANNING
THE PATIENT'S CARE.
>> WHAT WE WENT THROUGH, NOBODY
SHOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH.
>> I WIZ PUT IN INSTANT
O MENOPAUSE AT 35 YEARS OLD.
>> AS FOR THESE CELLS, THESE
HIGH GRADE STAGGERINGLY
AGGRESSIVE CELLS, THE CASTILLOS
WONDER, WHO SHE IS AND DOES SHE
KNOW.
KNOW.
KNOW. THE
KNOW. THE HOSPITAL HAS YET TO TELL
THEM.
THEM.
THEM. >>
THEM. >> I THINK ABOUT HER AND PRAY
ABOUT HER ALL THE TIME BECAUSE I
KNOW NOW SHE IS STRUGGLING THE
WAY THAT WE THOUGHT WE WERE
STRUGGLING.
STRUGGLING. >> A DREAM KILLER, FOR HER, AND
FOR THEM.
FOR THEM.
FOR THEM. >> I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED.
HAVE YOU ACTUALLY TAKEN THE
STEPS TO MAKE SURE THIS NEVER
HAPPENS AGAIN?
HAPPENS AGAIN? >> WE ASKED SWEDISH HOW THIS
HAPPENED.
HAPPENED.
HAPPENED. THEY WILL NOT TELL US.
WE ASKED SWEDISH IF STAFF HAS
DONE ANYTHING TO MAKE SURE MANY
NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN.
THEY WILL NOT TELL US.
THIS CASE DID NOT RESULT IN A
LAWSUIT.
LAWSUIT.
LAWSUIT. ALL WE CAN SAY TONIGHT IS THERE
HAS -- IF THERE HAS BEEN A LEGAL
RESOLUTION TO THE CASE, BOTH
SIDES CANNOT SAY.
IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT SWEDISH
CALLED THIS QUOTE RARE AND
UNFORTUNATE AND QUOTE PATIENT'S
SAFETY IS PARAMOUNT AT OUR
HOSPITAL ADDING WE CONDUCTED A
THOROUGH INVESTIGATION.
THOROUGH INVESTIGATION. THE RESULTS OF WHICH HAVE NOT
BEEN MADE PUBLIC NEITHER TO THE
FAMILY OR ANYONE ELSE.
>> AS DEVASTATING AS THAT
FAMILY'S GRIEF IS, YOU JUST HAVE
TO WONDER IS THIS JUST HALF OF
THE STORY?
THE STORY? DID SOME OTHER FAMILY GET A
FALSE NEGATIVE?
FALSE NEGATIVE? >> THE CASTILLOS WITH AN AN
ANSWER TO THAT.
THAT IS ANOTHER THING THE
HOSPITAL HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO
PROVIDE THEM.
PROVIDE THEM. HOW DID THIS PATIENT KNOW?
HOW DID THIS PATIENT -- THIS
OTHER PATIENT FIND OUT?
WE ASSUME SHE HAS BEEN TOLD BUT
WE HAVE TO ASSUME THAT BECAUSE
THE HOSPITAL SIMPLY WILL NOT
SAY.
SAY.
SAY. >>
SAY. >> AND