As revealed during the investigation into the circumstances of the woman’s death, the pathology department was overcrowded at the time due to the backlog of work accumulated after the COVID-19 pandemic. The doctor called the nine-month wait unacceptable and acknowledged that earlier treatment could have affected the woman’s lifespan, reports „Mirror“.
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Sought help for gynecological symptoms
S. Daniels, who lived in the town of Port in South Wales, visited her family doctor in October 2021. The woman complained of concerning gynecological symptoms, and a mass was found in her ovary after tests.
She was offered two surgical treatment options. The woman chose the less invasive operation rather than complete removal of the uterus. In February 2022, the mass was removed from the ovary and sent for examination. However, S. Daniels waited nine months for the pathology results.
A rare and aggressive disease was finally diagnosed – appendiceal signet ring cell adenocarcinoma. The cancer had spread to the ovary. Upon receiving the results, the woman was told that her condition was incurable and her expected lifespan was about a year.
The department was overwhelmed with work
It was revealed in court that the pathology department of the Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board was completely overloaded. Many scheduled visits and tests were postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a huge backlog of unfinished work.
Biomedical scientist Martin Ludlam stated that the department’s workload increased sharply after the pandemic. “This case showed that we can never again return to a situation where a queue for routine tests forms,” he said.
After this case, the health board began transferring some of the accumulated tests to other institutions.
Endured 10 chemotherapy courses
S. Daniels’ husband Ben said that upon hearing the diagnosis of an incurable disease, his wife did not lose hope. She received private treatment at the Christie cancer center in Manchester, where her appendix was removed.
Later, the woman continued treatment at the Velindre cancer center in Cardiff. She endured 10 courses of chemotherapy and had regular tests performed.
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For a while, it seemed that the disease had retreated – the woman was told that there were no signs of cancer. However, tests performed just a few months later showed that the disease had recurred.
According to her husband, Sarah “never gave up” and fought the disease to the end. However, in January 2025, her condition began to deteriorate rapidly. In April of the same year, the 43-year-old woman died at home, surrounded by loved ones.
Called the nine-month delay unacceptable
Consultant Mohamed Khalifa, who chaired the health board’s gynecological oncology specialists’ meetings, admitted during the session that earlier treatment could have changed the course of the disease.
“Her time of death could have been different if chemotherapy or other treatment had started earlier. The nine-month period between surgery and the histological examination result was unacceptable,” said the doctor.
He also noted that the risk index of the malignant process calculated at that time gave the woman and her family a false sense of security.
The official cause of S. Daniels’ death was stated as metastatic appendiceal signet ring cell adenocarcinoma.
Coroner Rachel Knight, who investigated the circumstances of the death, found that the woman died of a naturally developed disease. However, the nine-month-long investigation reduced the likelihood that chemotherapy would be successful and could have affected not only her lifespan but also her quality of life.
Addressing the woman’s husband and children, the coroner apologized for what the family had to endure: “I regret that you lost Sarah under such circumstances. You showed great dignity throughout the process. What you had to go through must have been terrible. It is clear that Sarah was very much loved and is greatly missed.”
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