Diagnosed with cancer, underwent a hysterectomy - and then it turned out: the sample was not hers
Cassandra Barksdale arrived for treatment due to uterine bleeding, but a biopsy led to a misdiagnosis and surgery during which her uterus, cervix, and fallopian tubes were removed.
A mistake in identifying a tissue sample apparently led to a misdiagnosis of cancer and an irreversible surgery that was unnecessary. Cassandra Barksdale from the Atlanta area in the USA filed a lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente, claiming that a biopsy not taken from her was mistakenly attributed to her, and as a result, she was wrongly diagnosed with aggressive endometrial cancer. Months after undergoing extensive surgery, it turned out, according to the lawsuit, that the biopsy with the malignant tumor belongs to another patient.
Barksdale arrived in early 2025 at the Southwood Medical Center of Kaiser Permanente in Jonesboro, Georgia, after suffering from abnormal bleeding and uterine fibroids, common benign tumors. On March 10, she underwent an endometrial biopsy, and a week later, on March 17, she was told that the test indicated aggressive high-grade endometrial cancer. According to NBC News, the sample was sent for pathology testing at an external laboratory. Later, Barksdale underwent a CT scan which, according to the lawsuit, showed no signs of cancer. Despite this, based on the pathology findings and previous medical documents, she was referred to a specialist who recommended she undergo surgery.
On May 15, 2025, when she was 43, Barksdale underwent surgery that included a full hysterectomy as well as the removal of the cervix, both fallopian tubes, and the ovaries. As part of the surgery, lymph node samples were also taken. The removal of the ovaries put her into early menopause following the surgery, it is claimed in the lawsuit. However, tests performed on the tissues removed during the surgery found no evidence of cancer. According to the lawsuit, the post-surgery pathological examination did not identify malignancy in the endometrial cavity. Despite this, Barksdale continued for months to deal with uncertainty regarding her condition, and was even told that she might need chemotherapy.
"I even started planning the funeral."
Beyond the physical damage, Barksdale describes months of fear of a life-threatening disease. According to her, the diagnosis also severely affected her two sons, who, she said, fell into deep depression after believing their mother was ill with aggressive cancer. "I even started making funeral plans with them, so they would know that if I didn't make it, this is what I want them to do," Barksdale said, according to an AP news agency report.
Only in September 2025 did the turning point occur. According to the lawsuit, Barksdale was updated that a DNA test performed on the original sample showed that the tissue in which the cancer was found is not hers but belongs to another patient. How exactly the mix-up occurred is still unclear. Her attorney, Shannan Yang, said that Barksdale arrived at the healthcare system looking for answers, but left it with a "diagnosis that did not belong to her," and that all the steps that followed were based on incorrect information.
According to NBC News, the lawsuit claims that employees of the diagnostic company handled the sample negligently before it was sent for testing at an external laboratory. The laboratory itself is not being sued and is not accused of wrongdoing. At this stage, it is still unclear how exactly the error in identifying the sample occurred. The condition of the other patient is also not known to the public. AP noted that due to medical privacy laws, no details were provided about her, including the question of whether the diagnosis of her cancer or its treatment were delayed due to the error.
The company apologizes, the lawsuit demands accountability. In response to the case, Kaiser Permanente stated that "Ms. Barksdale should not have had to go through this." The company added that it employs skilled teams and operates processes designed to prevent such errors, and that after the incident, immediate steps were taken to prevent a recurrence of a similar case. "We understand the impact of the incident and are committed to working with Ms. Barksdale and her attorneys to resolve the matter in the fairest and most responsible way we can," it was stated on its behalf.
The lawsuit was filed in Clayton County, Georgia, against several entities in the Kaiser Permanente group as well as against laboratory personnel who were allegedly involved in handling the sample. Barksdale is requesting a jury trial and is demanding damages in an undisclosed amount. It is unclear how often errors of sample swapping or mislabeling occur in pathological tests. According to AP, similar cases have already been documented in the past in the USA, and laboratories have adopted various safety measures over the years, including barcode systems for labeling samples and procedures for identifying the sample already at the collection point. Attorney Yang said that even if the lawsuit ends in compensation, it will not be possible to return to Barksdale the healthy organs that were removed or to erase the experience she went through. According to her, when negligence causes harm to a person, responsibility cannot be limited to an apology alone.
Similar cases have also occurred in Israel. In 2014, it was published on Ynet about a woman in her 40s who underwent a mastectomy after being told that cancer cells were found in a test. After the surgery, no malignancy was found in the removed tissue, and a DNA test conducted later revealed that the original sample in which the cancer was found was not hers at all, but belonged to another woman. Years earlier, in 2004, it was published on Ynet about a 50-year-old woman who underwent removal of the uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes after being told she was a carrier of mutations that increase the risk of cancer. Repeated tests conducted later at another hospital revealed that she does not carry the mutations, and she claimed in a lawsuit that the surgery was performed unnecessarily.
