England Medical Center Mistakenly Sends ‘Aggressive Lung Cancer’ Diagnosis Instead of Holiday Text

Patients at a medical practice in Doncaster, England received a false “aggressive lung cancer” diagnosis via text message, instead of a festive greeting for the holiday season.

Askern Medical Practice, which treats nearly 8,000 patients, sent out a mass text on Dec. 23, only to later issue an apology and explanation for what the text “should have read,” according to BBC.

Some registered patients had been tested for lung cancer and were awaiting results, leaving many shocked to the core just a few days before Christmas.

In the text, recipients were told that they not only had “aggressive lung cancer,” but with “metastases,” a type of secondary malignant growth at stage 4. The message instructed patients to complete a DS1500 form, which allows people with terminal diseases to claim certain benefits.

When Sarah Hargreaves received the text, she said she was shopping at the time and “felt sick to my teeth and broke down.” She was waiting for medical test results after a mole removal, so she attempted to contact the surgery center multiple times, but couldn’t get through.

“I had just had a mole removed and was awaiting a result from a biopsy and I had been to hospital as my smear test came back abnormal, so yes, I was very worried,” she said.

Carl Chegwin and his mother, who are also patients at the surgery center, were subjected to the upsetting diagnosis.

“It completely took me by surprise… It’s not often I go to the doctors, then out of the blue, it’s cancer,” Chegwin said. “I’m sat there scratching my head thinking, ‘I do smoke, do they know something I don’t?'”

After 22 minutes, the medical center issued a second text stating that the original text was sent in error, while offering “sincere apologies” and a “very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

An angry patient posted the error message on Facebook, writing “Something [is] clearly not right at Askern Medical Practice. Fuming,’ the Daily Mail reported.

“I received this message and I’m not the only one. I was shaking and close to tears. Quite a few in the surgery now with the same text. I was near the surgery and walked in to say what the hell,” the post continued.

There has been no further updates from the center.