Colin Whitney's family still awaiting answers over cancer care

Colin Whitney, now 77, originally from Powys,  was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma in summer 2019, and was originally given a prognosis of living until the end of 2020. 

He was put on a palliative care end-of-life programme at the hospital, following numerous visits to Nevil Hall Hospital in Abergavenny and the University of Wales Hospital in Cardiff to find answers for his symptoms, including chest pains, breathlessness and difficulty swallowing. 

Colin was originally told he would not live to see the end of 2020 (Image: Rebecca Whitney) However, after a visit from his GP in 2023 raised the question of how he had outlived the original prognosis so long, further tests revealed no signs of lymphoma and the family, led by daughter Becky, raised the issue of possible misdiagnosis. 

This claim was dismissed by doctors at the time, and for the last five years, the family have been fighting to find answers as to why Mr Whitney is still so ill with many of the original symptoms and has not improved, but was given palliative care he seemingly did not need. 

Daughter Becky, who now lives with her father at her home in Hay-on-Wye, recently attended a meeting alongside the rest of the family with the medical director and CEO of Powys Teaching Health Board, her father's GP, and a medical nurse who is the vice CEO of Powys Teaching Health Board. 

The meeting was designed to work out "the next steps" in how they go about resolving the issues with her father's care. 

She said: "It's been really difficult for us as a family, but we're just so desperate to find out what's wrong with Dad." 

Colin now lives with his daughter Rebecca in Hay on Wye (Image: Becky Whitney) Ms Whitney explained she had highlighted during the meeting that the primary symptoms her father had first presented with - including breathlessness, chest pains, swallowing difficulty and lack of appetite - had not improved in any way since or during the treatment. 

She continued: "We're still no further forward with finding out what is wrong with our dad, and that's all we want to know."

During the meeting with the team at Powys Teaching Health Board, the family discussed the issues surrounding Colin's care.

The family are desperate to find out what is wrong with Colin after five years of fighting (Image: Rebecca Whitney) It is now understood that Mr Whitney will undergo a number of agreed referrals to different departments for further investigations into his ongoing symptoms. 

Daughter Becky added: "At the moment, he's just facing more appointments to see if someone can work out what's wrong. 

"We've got another meeting scheduled with the health boards in a few weeks, so we just hope we might know more then." 

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board again apologised for Mr Whitney's experience and urged the family to continue to contact them directly with further questions. 

They did not wish to comment further. 

Powys Teaching Health Board did not respond to a request for comment.