Winnipeg woman's cancer treatment delayed due to misplaced COVID-19 test result
A Winnipeg woman's treatment at Cancer Care Manitoba was delayed after her COVID-19 test results were misplaced due to a data error.
It's been a tough week for Tammy Casper and her family.
While most people were getting ready to celebrate the holiday season, she was coming to terms with a troubling diagnosis.
"I'm 45, and I got cancer. And you're trying to digest that, and then you get COVID-19."
Casper was diagnosed with leukemia in early December, and catching COVID-19 the next week added some challenges surrounding her treatment of the disease.
She said even though she'd already tested positive, she had to get another COVID-19 test done so Cancer Care Manitoba could assess her levels to see if she was contagious. After taking her new test, the results never came back.
"I heard nothing over the weekend. I heard nothing at the beginning of the week. Cancer Care is going 'okay, well we need you in here on (Jan. 13), but we've got nothing to go on.'"
Casper said after five days, she called Health Links to find the test results she'd never received.
After days of calling, she was informed that her test had been placed in a different filing system for people whose health information had an error.
"I'm on the top of my health card, and my husband is under me," Explained Casper.
"(The testing site) put my husband's birthdate with my information, so my test sat there as a positive test in limbo without me being contacted."
On Wednesday, Health Minister Audrey Gordon announced two new COVID-19 testing sites were opening up in Winnipeg to address the backlog of test results.
"We're able to report today that we have no backlog and that results are being provided in under a day," said Gordon.
But Casper wonders how many others have had their test results shelved due to an error.
She was able to go to Cancer Care and get some initial tests done as a COVID-19 suspect patient in isolation. However, she's still waiting to hear back from an infectious disease specialist to see if she's contagious before she can have normal access to Cancer Care.
"I want to get this going, I have a treatable leukemia, and I want to get it going so that it doesn't get to the point where it's not treatable anymore."
In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson for Cancer Care Manitoba (CCMB) said “Patients receiving treatment at CCMB are not generally tested prior to their appointment, although testing will be arranged if they are symptomatic. Patients requiring admission to hospital are tested upon admission, not in advance.”
Correction
The story has been updated to include more from Cancer Care Manitoba's statement.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
China's latest EV is a 'connected' car from smart phone and electronics maker Xiaomi
Xiaomi, a well-known maker of smart consumer electronics in China, is joining the country's booming but crowded market for electric cars.