We had one person here who went in for a radiation treatment and the patient before her was a no show - she was irradiated for prostate cancer that day (oops!). They never advanced the program to hers.

I used to always check the computer monitor in the treatment room to make sure that my name was on the treatment plan.

Considering that many treatment centers run people through like cattle and some operate 12/hrs a day, I am surprised that more mistakes like these don't happen (or maybe they are just not reported).

If I was her I would file a complaint through the MEDWATCH system on a Form 3500 with the FDA for patient injury - that is definitely a reportable event. http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/

In fact anytime you receive unnecessary radiation or x-rays or studies that have to be repeated (because they blew the exam or "lost" your image files, they are all considered patient injuries.
This above doesn't apply to MRI, PET (but not PET/CT)or Ultrasound as these don't introduce gamma or ionizing radiation into the body. Dental and chest x-rays are a small amount of radiation. When you start getting into CT scans, one is equal to 3 years of normal background radiation exposure.


Gary Allsebrook
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Dx 11/22/02, SCC, 6 x 3 cm Polypoid tumor, rt tonsil, Stage III/IVA, T3N0M0 G1/2
Tx 1/28/03 - 3/19/03, Cisplatin ct x2, IMRT, bilateral, with boost, x35(69.96Gy)
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"You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14 NIV)