Kobe Hospital Leaves Man with Colon Cancer Untreated for a Year Due to Failure to Share Information Internally, Causing Cancer to Advance to Stage 4 from Stage 3

The Yomiuri Shimbun

10:09 JST, June 20, 2024

A Kobe hospital left a man in his 80s with colon cancer untreated for a year, causing the cancer to advance to stage 4 from stage 3, because of failure to share information internally, the Kobe City Hospital Organization said Wednesday.

The man was found to have prostate cancer and colon cancer in a CT scan at the Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital in November 2022, and treatment was started for the prostate cancer, which was more urgent. But the information on the colon cancer was not shared internally, according to the organization.

Complaining about abdominal pain and diarrhea, he visited the hospital in December 2023 and was found to have advanced colon cancer. He is still undergoing treatment.