Woman with terminal cancer speaks of missed chance for surgery

A Mayo woman whose brain tumour went undiagnosed despite repeated scans has spoken of her anger at the care she received and the loss of her independence.

Mary Keane was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2023, after years of headaches which she said were attributed to an old head injury.

Speaking to Prime Time, she recalled repeatedly telling doctors that something was wrong.

"There's something there, and I said, 'you have to find it,'" Mary said.

University Hospital Galway apologised in the High Court on 8 October for deficiencies in Mary's care in 2013 and 2016 which it acknowledged had delayed the diagnosis of her brain tumour.

Medical experts instructed on Mary's behalf identified three missed opportunities to diagnose the tumour, following scans in 2012, 2013 and 2016. Their view was that earlier referral would have given her the option of surgery.

For Mary and her family, questions remain about what happened and who should be held accountable.

"This was never about money. It was about accountability, and for them to take responsibility for what they've done to her," Mary's sister Carmel said, adding that Mary now needs round-the-clock care and help with everyday tasks.

"I miss the driving," Mary said, explaining that she had previously been able to travel freely in her car.

Years of headaches

Mary had worked in a shop and regularly helped on the family farm before she was assaulted on a night out in 2005.

"My life before 2005 was great, I had no problems," she said.

She suffered a head injury in the assault and began experiencing persistent headaches afterwards.

Mary said she repeatedly sought help but struggled to get an explanation for her pain.

"I couldn't find out what was wrong."

She underwent scans in Galway and said she was reassured that what doctors could see was related to her old head injury.

"I was told that it was a 'wedge' in my head, and that I didn't have to worry about it," she said.

Medication helped for a time, but the headaches returned. Mary recalled being reassured again after further scans, including one in 2016.

Asked whether she felt doctors were taking her concerns seriously, she said she did not.

Carmel said the family could see a change in Mary.

"She wasn't the same bubbly girl that she always was, myself and my mother said one day, this has to stop."

During those years, Mary was also driving her father to appointments for his own brain tumour. He underwent surgery, while her condition remained undiagnosed.

Now unable to drive because of her illness, Mary questioned whether it had been safe for her to do so then.

"I was his main driver, and what would have happened if I had crashed the car with him, killing both of us, or killing someone else?" she said.

'We didn't know what to think’

In 2023, Mary experienced a severe headache on a day when she had travelled from her apartment in Westport to help with cattle on the farm.

She said the pain became unbearable and she could not see. She asked her mother to call an ambulance.

Following this, a further scan finally revealed a mass on her brain.

"We were thinking that it couldn't be too serious because all her other scans were clear," Carmel said.

"We didn't know what to think."

Mary was referred to Beaumont Hospital, where the family said she was told the tumour was high grade and that it was no longer possible to operate to remove it.

Mary said the seriousness of her situation "hit home" after a biopsy.

Carmel described the family as "shattered" and "heartbroken" by the news.

The experts instructed for Mary's legal case said the misinterpretation of her scans had cost her at least five years of life and the opportunity to undergo surgery.

The case settled following mediation in July.

'Cancer-free'

Carmel also described a follow-up appointment in Galway in 2025 at which, she said Mary was told she was "cancer-free" and that her tumour was gone.

She said she shared the news with the family but began to question what they had been told.

"I contacted the family saying that good news, but it wasn't. It was very short lived," she said.

Carmel said she emailed Mary's consultant to ask when Mary could resume driving and stop having scans.

According to Carmel, the consultant replied the following day saying they could not be certain Mary was cancer-free.

Galway University Hospitals apologised in the High Court on 8 October for deficiencies in Mary’s care in 2013 and 2016 which led to the delay in diagnosing her brain tumour.

In a statement to Prime Time, it reiterated that apology.

"We acknowledge and deeply regret the pain and upset caused to Ms Keane and her family as a result of deficits in standards of care at the hospital," it said.

'Lacked heart'

Carmel said the apology delivered in court did not reflect what the family had been through.

"It lacked empathy," she said. "It lacked heart."

Mary said she feels angry and frustrated, and that how she feels physically varies from day to day.

"I'm not happy about it, and I'm disgusted at the HSE for putting me in that dilemma," she said.

"I feel like some days I could jump over the house, and other days, then I'd be just lying in bed."

Despite what she has been told about her illness, she still hopes treatment or a trial might help her regain some of the life she has lost.

"I'm hoping. I'll never let up," she said.

"I hope it'll turn around for me, and that I be able to get on with my life, get a job."

Sarah McInerney spoke to Mary Keane and her sister Carmel for the 3 November edition of Prime Time which is broadcast on RTÉ One television and available on the RTÉ Player.