Mum ‘WRONGLY told she had cancer dies after doctors remove her healthy kidneys’
Her daughter had been planning to donate a kidney when she passed away
A GRANDMA who claimed that her healthy kidneys were removed by doctors has died eight months after the op.
Linda Woolley, 73, was trying to get onto the US kidney transplant waiting list when she died from cardiac arrest last week.
She had surgery to remove both kidneys back in May 2018, after she claimed docs told her she probably had kidney cancer.
Following the op, she had to have four hours of dialysis three days a week, local news station reports.
It wasn't until after the life-changing surgery that Linda discovered that her biopsy reports had shown "no evidence of malignancy".
Her devasted daughter Heidi had been planning on donating a kidney when Linda passed away.
"This was completely unexpected," she wrote on her mum's .
"I was actually planning on donating a kidney to my mum this spring, and she was in the process of completing all of the necessary tests and procedures so that she would get the all clear to move forward with the transplant - she had a stress test scheduled for 9 February.
"Our mum had both of her kidneys removed in May of 2018 at the recommendation of the second urologist we consulted.
"She had to attend dialysis three times a week because her body was no longer able to produce urine.
Symptoms of kidney cancer
Obviously, cases like Linda's are extremely rare.
Kidney cancer tends to be diagnosed with an ultrasound to see if there are any tumours on the organs. Then doctors may carry out a cystoscopy to check the inside of your bladder, before conducting a CT scan - and then they may do a biopsy.
According to, medics can usually make a confident diagnosis using a CT scan alone, and biopsies are very rare.
Symptoms of kidney cancer include:
- blood in urine
- a lump in the area of your kidneys
- persistent lower back pain
- pain in your side between your ribs and hipbone
- high blood pressure
- tiredness
- weight loss
- heavy sweating
If you have any of these symptoms, get them checked out immediately.
There are no effective screening programmes to catch the disease in its early stages.
Catch it early, and you have up to 95 per cent chance of survival even at stage 2. By stage 4, you've got around 5 per cent chance of living over five years.
"She's had countless complications that followed that horrific event - all made more aggravating because she was told after she no longer had her kidneys that she never had kidney cancer."
Back in November, Linda had told KVDR that she was "not real happy" about her situation.
"My life was totally changed. Dialysis is no picnic no matter how used to it you get, it robs you of your life."
Before her death, she'd hired a lawyer to file a lawsuit alleging malpractice against the University of Colorado Hospital.
Her heartbroken family believes that she would "absolutely" still be alive if she hadn't had the operation.
They claim that her death on February 1 was due to "complications related to extremely high potassium levels".
"There are a few things the kidneys regulate, one of them being potassium,” her daughter Jodi Fournier told KDVR.
“And when you don’t have them you have the dialysis that removes those toxins in your body.
"Her [potassium] levels were twice what they should’ve been and that ultimately caused the cardiac arrest.”
MORE ON HEALTH
The University of Colorado Hospital released a statement following the former patient’s death.
“Our deepest condolences go out to the family and loved ones,” the hospital said.
“We are committed to providing the highest-quality care for our patients.
"Unfortunately, we are unable to discuss any specific patients because of federal and state laws that protect patients’ privacy.”
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