A WOMAN was forced to pay for a private diagnosis of a large cancerous tumour after delays at Southend Hospital left her “in agony”.

Suzanna Wiley, 45, was horrified to discover she had a large mass measuring 10cm by 8cm in her abdomen following a CT scan at Southend Hospital at the end of July of last year.

But a series of delays and mishaps left the Great Wakering resident waiting months for a full diagnosis of the tumour, with the frightened mother resorting to coughing up about £600 for a private diagnosis which confirmed the had a liposarcoma, a rare type of cancer that develops in fatty tissue.

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“The most stressful part was not actually getting the cancer diagnosis, but the lead up to that and feeling abandoned with no obvious route to go down,” Ms Wiley, who lives with her partner and 13-year-old son, said.

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She added: ““If this has happened to me, then how many other people are being left behind and how many of them may not be fortunate enough as I am to be able to afford to turn to private in their moment of need?”

After her initial scan at Southend Hospital July 26, the Great Wakering resident had to wait another eight days for an urgent MRI scan to diagnose whether the mass was cancerous.

However, complications meant the scan failed to identify what the mass was; Ms Wiley claims she was then left without any communication or follow up for ten days.

On August 15, she took herself to A&E at Southend as she was suffering “extreme abdominal pain”.

Another CT scan was performed, but after a 24 hour-wait for results, she was told the scan had been misread.

Feeling despair with her NHS experience, Ms Wiley paid for tests with a private doctor who diagnosed her cance on December 5 and referred her back to an NHS specialist.

She underwent surgery on the January 10 to remove the tumour at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

At this point the tumour had grown almost 50 per cent since her initial scan more than six months earlier.

Ms Wiley, who was told she was cancer free earlier this week, has submitted an official complaint to the Mid and South Essex NHS Trust.

Ros Blackboro, Deputy Chief Nurse at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are in contact with Mrs Wiley regarding her concerns and are investigating.”