Woman Dies After Doctors Mistake Adenocarcinoma Tumor For Pregnancy; What Is A Molar Pregnancy?
Demi Wright, 22, of Colchester England died last month after doctors initially mistook her cancer for pregnancy. The cancer produced the same hormones normally associated with pregnancy, but by the time Wright’s doctors correctly diagnosed the pain in her back as a terminal tumor, known as an adenocarcinoma, it was too late. Wright died three weeks later.
Wright, a makeup artist for Lancome, was admitted to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge last November after experiencing lower back pain. Lab results revealed that she had tested positive for hormones commonly associated with pregnancy and Wright was taken to a maternity ward of the hospital, The Daily Gazette reported. However, further investigation revealed that it was a 12-centimeter tumor, not a developing fetus, that was at the root of her symptoms.
Wright was diagnosed with terminal adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer that forms in the mucus-secreting glands. The cancer had already spread throughout Wright’s body. When the cancer begins in the endometrial tissue in the uterus, as it had with Wright, it is known as a molar pregnancy. According to The American Pregnancy Organization, these pregnancies arise when there is a problem with conception, the moment egg and sperm join together. Molar pregnancies start in the same way as regular pregnancies, and therefore often go undetected for long periods of time.
Helen Webberley, the dedicated GP for Oxford Online Pharmacy, told the Huffington Post that pregnancy tests for molar pregnancies come up positive because the growth in the uterus releases the same hormone that is normally associated with pregnancy.
“It is only when the patient comes for their 12-week scan that a molar pregnancy is detected,” Webberley said.
Treatment for adenocarcinoma varies depending on where it grows in the body, and options include surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy. According to The Cancer Center, the most common course of treatment for adenocarcinoma is a combination of both surgery and chemotherapy. In most cases, the woman makes a full recovery once the cells have been completely removed from her uterus, but in rare cases, such as Wright's, the cancer can be deadly.
Wright’s family remembers the aspiring makeup artist as “bubbly, positive, and cheerful.” Her father, Chris, said she kept her composure even after learning about the devastating diagnosis.
"When we found out the cancer was terminal, she lifted herself up, she patted the bed and said, 'Dad, come and sit here.' She gave me a big hug and said: 'It's going to be okay,'" he told the Daily Gazette. Wright passed away the next day.
In Wright's memory, her family has set up a fundraising page where people can donate to Cancer Research UK, a charity dedicated to one day curing all forms of cancer.
In December, Medical Daily reported on a similarly tragic case. Clare Daly, who is also from England, mistook back pain for a pulled muscle for months, The Liverpool Echo reported. By the time her pain was correctly diagnosed as a melanoma, the cancer was already too far advanced. Daly passed away months later.