"I now have no stomach and am in constant pain and discomfort," said Ford. "I am either constipated or have diarrhea and am afraid to leave the house in case I need a bathroom. I do not absorb food, so I have very little energy and find everyday tasks hard work."
Ford and his wife, Joan, were awarded an undisclosed six-figure compensation payout when Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust accepted liability for the mistake, but it's been of little comfort to the couple.
"My wife and I had recently retired and we were looking forward to spending quality time together traveling," Ford said. "However, the operation has seriously limited what I can do. We have no social life any more, and fear all our retirement plans have completely gone out the window."
"I wish with all my heart that on the morning of his operation John had walked out, which he wanted to do," Joan added.
Unfortunately, Ford is not alone in his personal tragedy. According to Gary Null, PhD., in his book "Death by Medicine," it is estimated that 7.5 million unnecessary medical and surgical procedures are performed annually.
"The number of misdiagnosed and mistreated cancer cases is far larger than most people suspect," said Mike Adams, a consumer health advocate and critic of the for-profit cancer industry. "Very few cancer mistakes ever come to light. Most victims just live out their lives without their stomach, colon or breasts, believing their cancer surgeries were justified when, in fact, they were not."
Adams recommends that patients get a second or third opinion on any cancer diagnosis before submitting to radical treatments that cause permanent damage such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiation.
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