A coroner has warned there is a “risk of future deaths” after a man was declined treatment on the NHS that could have caught his cancer earlier.
Gregor Lynn, 24, visited his GP in March 2019 after discovering a “nuisance” lesion on the back of his neck.
But he was told the growth did not fit the NHS’s criteria for further investigation and would therefore have to go private to get it removed.
Mr Lynn then paid £140 to have the lesion excised privately but chose not to spend an additional £65 to have it tested for cancer. The testing would have been free on the NHS, an inquest into Mr Lynn’s death heard.
Mr Lynn visited his doctor again 14 months later after the lesion reappeared.
He was referred to a specialist and diagnosed with cancer, which scans showed had spread to his lymph nodes, chest wall and lungs.
The 24-year-old died two years later on 8 July 2022.
Mr Lynn then paid £140 to have the lesion excised privately but chose not to spend an additional £65 to have it tested for cancer— (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Caroline Jones, assistant coroner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, ruled that Mr Lynn died of natural causes due to a “disseminated metastatic melanoma”.
But she raised serious concerns about the case and has written to the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) asking for officials to look at what lessons could be learned from Mr Lynn’s death.
Ms Jones said that while she was not able to conclude that, had the sample been sent for analysis in March 2019, any sign of melanoma would have been detected.
“Nevertheless, it is of concern that the barrier to undergoing a complete procedure, including histological analysis, appears to be one of cost,” she said.
“In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken,” she added.
Ms Jones added that she believed that both the NHS and DHSC “have the power to take such action” that would prevent future deaths.
Both organisations are required to respond to the concerns raised in the report by 14 February.
