Mayo woman wrongly told she was "cancer free” after terminal brain cancer diagnosis

Mary Keane was tagging cattle near her home in Ballycroy when she lost her sight. Fortunately, her mum, Alice, and brother, John, were nearby and sprung into action and Mary was rushed to Castlebar's Mayo University Hospital.

It was February 2023 and the severe headaches she had to endure for almost twenty years were about to make a lot more sense.

Mary had done everything right and yet here she was in an ambulance, blind and with a three week stay in Castlebar and Beaumont ahead of her.

In hindsight, as terrifying as it was at the time, her three week stint in Mayo University Hospital turned out to be a sliding doors moment.

After years of being told she was “making it up” by medical experts, a MRI and CT scan showed she had a cancerous tumour on her brain and she was recommended to go to Beaumont.

The Keane family knew all too well about brain tumors as Mary’s late father Manus was diagnosed with one in 2012.

It was around this time that Mary’s first scan in University Hospital Galway missed the tumour growing on her brain.

Little did she realise as she drove her father for his treatment in Dublin that she should have been receiving the same medical care.

On a sunny day in Ballycroy, Mary and her family spoke to The Mayo News about her experience and her fight for justice.

Public apology

Backed every step of the way by her steadfast family, Mary Keane received a public apology from the hospital that let her down earlier this month.

The Galway University Hospital publicly apologised to the Mayo woman for what it described as the “deficiencies in care in 2013 and 2016 which led to the delay in the diagnosis of your brain tumour.”

The blunt reality of the misinterpreted scans is that the missed opportunity to diagnose the tumour earlier means that the tumour, which was grade one at the time of the earlier scans, has since progressed to grade four.

It is now aggressive and inoperable, both because of its size and its location.

Medical experts found that scans carried out in 2012, 2013 and 2016 were all misreported, representing three missed opportunities to diagnose the tumour, with the result that on a conservative estimate, Ms Keane would miss out on five years of life.

Speaking to The Mayo News, Mary says that she still can’t understand how they “missed it three times.”

“I can't believe that they have left me like this. I really can't,” the 49-year-old woman said.

Despite new rules around duty of candour, which are meant to mean doctors hold their hands up when a mistake is made, the HSE made the Keane family fight every inch, even down to the wording of the apology.

“It was a fight all the way”, Mary tells The Mayo News.

Damien Tansey, Mary’s solicitor, criticised the pace at which the hospital engaged with the process. “That apology was dragged out. We had to go to court for every one of those applications, which is most unfortunate.”

In July, a settlement was agreed and the family insisted on a public apology to ensure accountability and prevent others from facing the same scenario.

While Mary's sister Carmel says that “no apology and no money can undo that mess,” the family would encourage anyone who feels something isn’t right after getting a scan to “pursue it.”

“We had to get it out there for other people going down the same road,” Alice explains.

‘Telling lies’

“We were let down badly by Galway University Hospital”, Mary’s sister Una, tells The Mayo News.

“You put your faith in the hospital when you go for your scans.”

Mary did “everything right. She went and complained and told them that things weren’t right and they just didn’t believe her,” Una recalls. “They just dismissed her like she was a nobody.”

Mary was told by one doctor that she was “telling lies and making it up” and that she was just looking for money.

On a good day, it’s a five hour round-trip from Ballycroy to the hospital in Galway.

Everytime she made the journey up with her family, Mary felt she wasn’t believed and that sometimes it felt that “it was a waste of time going there” as they weren't listening to her.

The family maintain that the hospital focused too much on Mary’s pre-existing head injury and that their father’s brain tumour should have been a “red flag.”

‘Cancer free’

In one of the most cruel turns of events, Mary was told that she was 'cancer-free' and the tumour was gone in September last year by a doctor during a routine check-up in Galway.

Carmel and Alice had travelled with Mary that day and thought that they had “won the lottery” with this news. The family met for a celebratory meal in Nevin's of Tiernaur.

One of the most debilitating impacts of her medical condition is that she is unable to drive.

If anyone in the family or in the neighbourhood needed a lift somewhere, Mary would usually be behind the wheel.

During Covid, Mary would do the shopping for vulnerable neighbours who couldn’t go to the shops.

It was Mary who drove her late father up to Beaumont for his treatment and she tells The Mayo News that she “was up and down the road with him.”

This news, if true, would mean that Mary could have gotten back driving and have an increased degree of independence.

Deep down, the family knew it couldn’t be possible for a cancerous tumour to just disappear.

Mary says that she knew it herself but they left the hospital and went down the Galway Road thinking she had “won the lottery” with a cancer-free diagnosis.

However, it turned out that it was not the case at all. Mary very much still has the malignant brain tumour.

The HSE was contacted for comment in relation to this and have not replied at the time of print.

Twenty years of headaches

Mary’s headaches started in 2006 and she recalls that she was taking Panadol and Solpadine.

Her sister Carmel remembers that Mary would take “anything that she could get her hands on” to try and help with the pain.

Mary had two hard lumps on her head and unfortunately by the time she went to Beaumont hospital in 2023, she was told that the lumps had “gone too far” and they couldn’t operate.

As we sit in the living room, talk turns to party planning for Mary’s goddaughter Shauna, who will soon turn four.

Una fought “tooth and nail” to get Mary a bed in Beaumont. It proved to be yet another battle the family had to undertake on Mary’s behalf.

One of the upsetting parts of Mary’s hospital stay in Beaumont is that she couldn’t get to Shauna’s christening, which was a big blow.

Mary also missed out on other important family occasions such as communions and confirmations.

Her life since the emergency admission to MUH has changed dramatically. Her energy levels are very low and she can never be left in the house on her own and two people have always got to be with her at all times in case she'd have a seizure or in case she'd fall.

Home care

Looking ahead, Mary will be cared for at home in Ballycroy by herfamily.

Her sister Carmel will be her main carer and will be ably supported by their mother and siblings.

Mary has an all new care team in University Hospital Galway for her check-ups.

Despite recent setbacks, family members remain optimistic about finding ways to manage her condition through faith or spiritual means.

The family are very grateful for all of the Mass cards and novenas that have been said for Mary.

The family expressed deep gratitude toward their GP in Bangor, Dr Oisin O Mongain, and his staff including Bernie and Clare, and the local pharmacy team in Bangor Erris - Lisa, Stephen and the rest of the team.

They also acknowledged the vital support provided by ambulance crews and air ambulance services who came to Mary’s aid.