VA Facilities Blamed for Mishandled Prostate Cancer Treatments

Just months after thousands of Veterans Affairs patients were told they may have been exposed to AIDS, hepatitis C, and other diseases due to sloppy handling of medical equipment during colonoscopies, officials are now warning some patients about incorrect radiation given during prostate cancer treatments.

The improper cancer treatments reportedly involve 92 veterans who were treated over six years at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia. The team of VA hospital officials who performed the procedures messed it up in 92 of 116 cases and kept repeating the mistake for a year of patient follow up and monitoring, according to a New York Times report.

Patients receiving brachytherapy to implant radioactive seeds to fight and kill cancer cells were given either far less or way too much of the proper doses of radiation. There were 35 cases of overdoses and 57 reports of too little radiation, according to reports.

The hospital’s prostate cancer treatment program was suspended last year during an investigation conducted by a federal commission into reports of wrongdoing.

Four of the men who received improper doses prostate cancer treatments have since died, but VA officials said none died as a direct result of prostate cancer or the mishandled treatment.

Other VA Problems

Earlier this year, reports that thousands of VA patients may have been exposed to life-threatening infections as the result of improper administration of colonoscopies at a handful of facilities in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee rocked the military hospital system in scandal.

In March, the VA notified 3,260 veterans who had colonoscopies at the Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare System between May 2004 and March 12, 2009 that that tubing used in endoscope procedures was rinsed but not disinfected, increasing the risk of disease or infection being passed between patients.

Officials later said at least 10 former VA colonoscopy patients had tested positive for infections, although it could not be confirmed whether the patients were exposed during the procedures.

This month, VA officials said inadequate training of hospital personnel was responsible for the misuse of colonoscopy equipment.

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