50 visits to doctors and still no one spotted woman’s cancer

The family of a retired NHS care worker said today they feel "cheated" after doctors failed to diagnose the cancer that killed her, despite 50 visits to hospital and her GP.

Maria Capuano, 65, had complained of severe stomach pains since 2007 but was repeatedly told she had minor ailments such as indigestion.

Her family says she was "fobbed off" for three years until this summer, when tests revealed she had stomach cancer that had by then spread to her liver.

Mrs Capuano, a mother of four and grandmother of five, died eight weeks later. Her family, including widower Giovanni, 70, are devastated.

Today her son Claudio, 40, hit out at doctors who he claims failed to carry out simple tests that would have picked up the tumour before it was too late.

"My mother would still be alive today if they had taken her seriously," he said. "They have let our family down."

He told the Standard that Mrs Capuano, a former hospital carer who lived in Woking, visited the accident and emergency ward at St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey "at least 30 times", and her GP on numerous occasions.

"She kept getting turned away and fobbed off with various medical conditions like gastritis and indigestion. She knew there was something wrong and kept going back but they never carried out the appropriate tests in the early stages," he said. "We felt cheated that she wasn't diagnosed earlier. They could have saved her."

Hospital bosses promised a thorough inquiry. Dr Mike Baxter, medical director at the Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We have immediately begun a full investigation into Mrs Capuano's treatment and care here and will of course share the full results with her family."