Brave mum dying of most cancers after bungling medics mentioned 3st lump was “fatty tissue”

Devastated Melissa says bungling medics ignored warning signs for years before deadly condition was finally found and now she has been diagnosed with terminal cancer

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A brave mum is riddled with terminal cancer after bungling medics dismissed a 3st lump in her stomach as “fatty tissue”. Melissa Fellows, 38, begged doctors to investigate the growing mass in her belly for ten years, but was repeatedly told it was harmless.

The mum-of-three first complained about a lump in 2009 but it was not properly examined until 2019 – by which time it was too late.

After the pain became unbearable, she was referred to a consultant plastic surgeon who ordered scans and a biopsy on the rugby ball-shaped tumour. She was diagnosed with liposarcoma, a rare type of cancer that develops in fatty tissue.

In June 2019 she had the 30cm by 30cm tumour removed by surgeons who said it was “one of the largest” they had ever seen. Over the next six months Melissa underwent gruelling chemotherapy but the cancer had spread and she was told it was terminal.

Melissa, from Hull, East Yorks., said: “I just feel so sad and so badly failed by the dozens of doctors and nurses who examined me. If I had been tested earlier the chances are I would be cured by now but instead I’m terminally ill.

“I don’t know if this will be my last Mother’s Day. I’ve got three children and it breaks my heart not knowing how much time I’ve got left to see them grow.”

Melissa first noticed a lump when she fell pregnant with her daughter, in 2009. She said: “I had a tiny lump inside the left handside of my stomach which you could only notice when I laid down.

“I went to the GP to say I had a positive pregnancy test and to check the lump. The GP checked it and told me it wasn’t attached to anything and they are quite common. He said they were cosmetic and I had nothing to worry about.”

In 2011 Melissa noticed the lump had grown so went back to her GP who referred her for a scan but she never received an appointment.

During her next two pregnancies, doctors, nurses and midwives all reassured Melissa she had a lipoma – a harmless fatty lump. In 2017 she started suffering “horrendous” pain and noticed the lump was growing at an alarming rate.

While pregnant with her third child she was sent for an urgent ultrasound but again was told the growth was harmless. In 2019, Melissa says the growth was so big she was struggling to walk upstairs or do every day tasks.

She said: “I had to wear baggy clothes to cover it up, but by the end that didn’t work and people would stare. I became very self-conscious about it and stayed at home. Every medic told me it was cosmetic and harmless and I believed them.

“I looked into having it removed and it would have cost me £10,000. I just thought I’d have to learn to live with it. My mental health really suffered.

“I was always quite slim and weighed about 10 stones, but this lump was like carrying around a fully grown toddler on my hip. I just knew this wasn’t normal and something was really wrong.”

She had a CT and MRI scan and biopsy which confirmed her worst fears and she was immediately referred to a specialist in Leeds General Infirmary.

Melissa said: “My world fell apart but at last I felt believed. After I had the tumour removed the doctors told me it weighed a whopping three stone and was the biggest tumour they had seen.

“When I finally got the diagnosis it was strangely something of a relief, as I was finally believed, but by then I was told it had spread.”

Despite seven further operations to remove more tumours, she was given the heartbreaking news the cancer was terminal. Melissa and husband Adam, 37, took legal action and this year received a six-figure payout from Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

The Trust admitted that Melissa could have been cured of cancer if she had been properly treated when she first complained about the lump.

The brave mum is now campaigning for a new Melissa’s Law to force GPs to send patients for scans if they notice any abnormal lumps on any part of their bodies.

She said: “I’m now living with a time bomb and having to approach every day as if it could be my last. With three children, it is heartbreaking.

“My message to others would be not to allow any doctors to dismiss lumps, especially if they continue to grow like mine did.

“I was told with mine that it was ok because it was moving, and that meant it had not attached to anything and therefore it wouldn’t be cancerous. That proved to be a nonsense.

“If I’d have been sent for a CT scan or a biopsy at any stage from 2009 onwards I wouldn’t be in this awful position I find myself now.”

Lawyer Caroline Murgatroyd, of Hudgell Solicitors who represented Melissa, said: “Melissa’s lump should have triggered further investigations on many occasions, but nobody took it upon themselves to reevaluate the initial diagnosis, despite its continued growth.

“She has been left in the heartbreaking situation of knowing that her cancer could and should have been found and cured, had it not been for negligent care.

“We were pleased to secure significant compensation for Melissa to help provide for her and enable her to enjoy precious time with her family.

“She had to come to terms with the reality that nothing can change her situation, and I know that has been so incredibly difficult given she is so young and had so much to look forward to as a mother of three young children.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is run by NHS Humber Health Partnership Group. Interim CEO Lyn Simpson said: “Firstly, I want to extend my sincere apologies to Mrs Fellows.

“We deeply regret that she did not receive the timely care she deserved. An investigation was conducted into Mrs Fellows treatment in 2023 and the findings were shared with her, followed by a letter of apology for the failings in her care that were identified.

“Since this incident occurred, we have put measures in place to prevent any repeat of such errors, including improved training. We are committed to learning from this case and continuously improving the safety and quality of care for all our patients.”

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