Family Seeks Criminal Charges In St. Paul's Hospital Death

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Family Seeks Criminal Charges In St. Paul's Hospital Death

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CANCER PATIENT DIES OF DEHYDRATION AFTER DOCTORS PULL THE PLUG

DOES DCA WORK AS A CANCER DRUG? A BC CANCER AGENCY PHYSICIAN THINKS "WHATEVER THE PATIENT WAS USING MIGHT HAVE ACCENTUATED THE EFFECT OF RADIOTHERAPY"

53-year-old Semin Ilman (pronounced Semine) was terrified of hospitals and doctors, and especially that c-disease since her father’s death in 1983. When she started having serious bleeding problems from the uterus in the fall of 2005 she took a friend’s advice to go to Paul Levendusky, a naturopathic doctor in White Rock, BC. Dr. Levendusky treated her for hormonal imbalance and menopausal symptoms until she was hospitalized in June 2007 and diagnosed with metastatic cervical cancer.

Her brothers were horrified and protested vehemently when doctors at the BC Cancer Agency refused to apply full radiation treatment and suggested that they let her die of kidney failure. After 10 palliative half-dose radiation sessions “just to stop bleeding and make her comfortable” she was transferred to the Sub-Acute Care Unit at Vancouver General Hospital. The family refused to accept the prognosis that her death was imminent.  Her brothers would not sign their agreement to non-intervention status required for a hospice or palliative care facility. As she was not going to receive any medical treatment, however, they decided to try DCA, the drug the University of Alberta is planning to conduct clinical trials for.

Doctors that rotated at VGH from July to September ignored the patient’s increasingly visible signs of recovery and did not bother to have the old diagnosis reassessed. After a nurse exclaimed “My God, you’re getting well” the doctor in charge reluctantly ordered a CT Scan on September 27, days before she was discharged from VGH. The doctor downplayed the result to the patient’s brother, saying there had been a moderate reduction of the tumor. As the family learned too late a month later, the radiology report showed some unexpectedly positive results. There had been a highly significant regression of the cervical tumor that may not have been the result of palliative radiation, or radiation alone, and the disease had not spread beyond what was diagnosed three months ago. Could that have been a missed window of opportunity to apply further treatment to the patient?

Her fate took a different turn when the patient developed a severe reaction to the chemicals carelessly administered for the CT Scan and was discharged from VGH in a very sick condition. Since her vomiting that started September 27 did not stop she was taken to St.Paul’s Hospital where she was treated for dehydration and potassium deficiency. She was placed in isolation since she had also contracted the hospital superbug MRSA also known as Staph, a fact that had not been disclosed to the patient or her family by VGH.

After 3 weeks of professional care and a rotation of doctors the new physician in charge of the Internal Medicine Unit and the senior resident decided that she had overstayed her welcome at St. Paul’s Hospital. They placed the patient back in a severe state of dehydration by pulling intravenous fluid support. In spite of pleadings by the family and the family physician on the evening of October 30, Dr. Kenneth Cunningham and Dr. Michael Tsang refused to administer the central line procedure that could have saved her life. Semin Ilman died in the morning of October 31. Her blood vessels had collapsed. Her eyes were wide open since there was not a drop of fluid left and she had not been able to blink or close her eyelids all night. Dr. Tsang, the senior resident, had delivered the coup de grace by injecting her with morphine.

The family requested a coroner’s examination and a criminal investigation but both the coroner and Vancouver Police refused. The coroner told the patient’s brother that they do not examine hospital deaths of terminally diagnosed patients. Vancouver Police told him they would not investigate the death of a terminal patient unless it is requested by St. Paul’s Hospital or a government authority.

The family has called on federal and provincial politicians for a public inquiry and wants criminal charges laid.

TO READ ABOUT DCA CLICK HERE

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070926/dca_070926/20070927?hub=Health