At 57, Jeni Descartes says her dad, Kasmier D'amico, was far from retired. He was still driving a truck for a living and enjoying one of his favourite hobbies in his spare time.
"Avid race car driver, he absolutely loved racing his Camaro," said Descartes.
So it was a shock for Descartes and her family to find out her father was very ill with cancer. A diagnosis Descartes says D'amico himself was unaware of, even though suspicions may have been raised by doctors months before.
"We weren't told anything about it, my dad wasn't told anything about it there was no follow-up to it," said Descartes.
In 2014, D'amico had a stent put in his abdomen to help with blood flow.
A follow-up appointment in May 2015 detected a growing lesion in his liver.
A radiologist red flagged the findings. A report obtained by the family says the "increase in size is slightly concerning. I would recommend an MRI of the liver to better characterize the lesion."
Descartes says that information was never shared with D'amico, not until he received a call for further testing in August, three months later.
In September he was told it was likely cancer.
"At that point he became depressed and looked at my mother and I and told us that this doctor had signed his death certificate," said Descartes.
Descartes says it then took six weeks to get a biopsy done, all the while her dad's health was declining an appointment at cancer care was set to discuss treatment options, but by then it was too late, a doctor delivered the news, Kasmier was not strong enough to do treatment.
He died not long after that on November 17.
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority says it's reviewing the case.
"We are looking into the information they've shared and our records regarding his care to see if there is anything that requires further review or any changes in process."
