New Delhi, May 1, 2008 - Forty five-year-old Kumud Devi is inconsolable. After being diagnosed with breast cancer, Kumud underwent mastectomy of her right breast at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on April 3. But the post-operation pathology report of the tissue which was removed left her in a state of shock. The report said she didn't have breast cancer.

AIIMS authorities, meanwhile, insisted that there was a mix-up of tissues sent to the pathology department from the operation theatre, and Kumud indeed had breast cancer.

Kumud, who hails from Bihar, came to AIIMS for an examination in February after detecting a lump in her right breast. After several tests, she was told that she had to undergo a mastectomy as it was cancerous.

"We got her here as it is the best hospital. She was upset about it, but we didn't want to take a chance," said Vikas Pandey, Kumud's son.

But the family got a rude shock when they collected Kumud's post-surgery biopsy report. The report said she didn't have cancer.

"I couldn't believe my eyes. I immediately went to the doctors, but they didn't pay any attention and told me that they would ask for a retest. They said they knew my mother had cancer and asked me to take the medicine and go," said Vikas.

When TOI contacted AIIMS, authorities admitted that Kumud's post-surgery pathology report indicated that she did not have cancer, but said there was some mix-up at the operation theatre level when the samples were sent to the lab for retesting. "The tests that were done before the surgery were all positive for breast cancer. A mistake happened at the level when samples were sent to the laboratory. We are going to see that the process is streamlined and no such mix-up happens again," said Dr Y K Gupta, spokesperson, AIIMS.

Meanwhile, the problem now is there is no way to retest the tissue that was taken out during surgery as the institute no more has the tissue sample.

"As a rule, all tissues or organs, which are taken out during surgery, are sent to the pathology department for study and reconfirming the medical complication. Previous tests done on Kumud were confirmatory tests for breast cancer. Her mammography showed a huge lump and grade 5 on breast imaging reporting and data system. So there is no doubt that she received the right treatment," said Dr Gupta.