Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Medical Clinic Apologizes After Accidentally Sending 'Lung Cancer Diagnosis' Texts To Thousands Of Patients

Askern Medical Clinic; tweet overlay from @KristelCollison
Askern Medical Clinic/Google Maps; @KristelCollison/Twitter

Askern Medical Practice GP Surgery in Doncaster, England accidentally told patients they had aggressive lung cancer rather than wishing them a Merry Christmas.

Text message alerts come in all forms these days: reminders for haircuts, reminders from your bank that your balance is getting low, updates from your doctor's office about your non-existent, horrible cancer diagnosis....

The last one is what happened to many patients at the Askern Medical Practice GP Surgery in Doncaster, England.


The practice was supposed to have sent out an automated text to all the patients wishing them a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

But instead some wires got crossed and they received the message below.

BBCNews

While many patients could infer the first text was a mistake, some were genuinely awaiting results of biopsies and therefore left upset and confused.

As one patient told the BBC, the text was quite upsetting due to this coincedence of timing.

"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."

The center sent out an apology text, but what a mistake to make during the holidays.


Some folks wanted to know why a cancer diagnosis message was being sent via text in the first place.


Others pointed out it's clearly not even how a patient would receive a diagnosis, but rather communication between providers that accidentally got leaked.


This sensible take on the situation didn't stop people from a common activity in the UK.

Griping about the National Health Service (NHS).


But one person asked an interesting side question.

How long did they take to fix their mistake?

Obviously this was a huge mistake on the part of this one practice in the NHS, but hopefully all those alarmed by the initial text had their fears relieved.

More from Trending

Screenshot of Marco Rubio and a sleeping Donald Trump
@DemocratWins/X

Trump Just Appeared To Fall Asleep During His Own Cabinet Meeting—And The Mockery Was Swift

President Donald Trump was widely mocked after he appeared to doze off during his own Cabinet meeting as members of the Cabinet openly praised him on Tuesday.

At one point, Trump closed his eyes for several seconds as Secretary of State Marco Rubio described him as "the only leader in the world who can help end" wars and "the million things going on in the world that we have to focus on as a country."

Keep ReadingShow less
Dave Coulier on TODAY
TODAY/YouTube

Dave Coulier Reveals New Cancer Diagnosis Just Months After Beating Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Fans of Full House and of Dave Coulier, who played Joey Gladstone on the show, have been on a roller coaster in the past year, following Coulier along on his cancer treatment journey after he revealed that he'd been diagnosed with Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma and later deemed cancer-free.

Now, unfortunately, the journey continues, as Coulier revealed during an interview with TODAY after Thanksgiving weekend that just seven months after being declared cancer-free, he's since been diagnosed with a "P16 squamous carcinoma," which is a form of cancer that concentrates in the head and neck, and in Coulier's case, in his tongue.

Keep ReadingShow less
Oxford American College Dictionary
AFP PHOTO/Nicholas KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images

Oxford Dictionary Just Announced Their 2025 Word Of The Year—And Yep, That Tracks

It's that time of year when all of the "2025 wrap ups" start to come out—some carefully considered and others a slapdash attempt at penning a list of things for people to buy—but a few "best of" lists are highly anticipated each year.

For those interested in words and/or pop culture, one of the big moments is when Oxford University Press releases their Word of the Year.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lilly Wachowski; Keanu Reeves
So True with Caleb Hearon/YouTube; Warner Bros.

Lilly Wachowski Shares How She Had To 'Let Go' Of 'The Matrix' After It Was Twisted By Right-Wing Theories

Matrix co-creator Lilly Wachowski has opened up about what it's been like to see her magnum opus The Matrix be co-opted by the far-right.

Anywhere you go in online spaces for the past 10-15 years, right-wing weirdos talk about being "red-pilled," a reference to the film's plot point in which lead character Neo is offered a red pill that will enlighten him to the realities of the systems ruling our lives, or a blue pill that will allow him to stay ignorant.

Keep ReadingShow less
Madonna; Donald Trump
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Madonna Rips Trump Administration's 'Absurd' Decision Not To Mark World AIDS Day For First Time Since 1988

Pop icon, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor Madonna has a bone to pick with the administration of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump.

On Monday, the Queen of Pop noted on Instagram that December 1 was World AIDS Day, but the United States government wouldn't be acknowledging it for the first time since the World Health Organization had established the day in 1988.

Keep ReadingShow less