Derbyshire mum found hanged after having hand amputated following delays to cancer diagnosis

The family of a mum found hanged after she had her hand amputated following years of delays to cancer treatment have spoken of their ‘devastating’ loss.

Beth Reilly, 33, was said to be "completely broken" by the removal of her left hand before she is believed to have taken her own life in July last year. She had first gone to her GP surgery in April 2019 with a small lump on her wedding ring finger, where she was told it was likely to be a ganglion, a fluid-filled cyst.

But the mum-of-three’s symptoms were then reviewed twice more over the next eight months after she complained of pain and growth of the lump. An MRI scan later revealed that it could be a possible cancerous lesion, leading to advice that she be referred to a specialist sarcoma cancer service.

An excision of the lump took place in February 2021, which also revealed potential evidence of cancer.

But Beth wasn’t referred to the sarcoma service until five months later, which an investigation found was due to samples from her surgery being logged incorrectly. At that time, Beth’s sarcoma - a rare cancer in bones and soft tissue - was found to have spread and she underwent amputation of her hand.

Beth’s family, who are investigating legal action, said she had struggled with her diagnosis and amputation prior to her suicide on July 31 last year.

Her grieving mum Hazel, 59, said: "I don’t think I’ll ever get over losing Beth in the way that we did. She struggled so much with the cancer, but then to have to go through having her hand amputated left her completely broken.

"She lost all her independence and really couldn’t cope with having to rely on others to do even the most simple tasks. To be told that my daughter had died was devastating; no parent should ever have to suffer that.

"Telling my grandchildren was even worse, as I couldn’t explain to them why their mummy had been taken from them so suddenly. Beth knew something wasn’t quite right with her finger, but she was assured time and time again that it wasn’t cancer."

Support worker Beth, from Furness Vale, Derbyshire, was mother to Jaicey, 16, April, 13, and eight-year-old Teddy-Lee. An inquest into her death will be held at a later date, but an interim death certificate stated the cause of death to be hanging.

Hazel added: "We have so many questions over why it took so long for it to be diagnosed. While that won’t bring my beloved Beth back, I feel like I need to get the answers she sought before her death. It’s the least she deserves.

"I also want to make people aware of what cancer can do if it’s not caught early. Watching Beth suffer in the way she did towards the end was awful, so I hope by speaking out, we can help others."

Nicola Ashton, the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Hazel, said the loss of her daughter had been "traumatic".

She said: "It’s been an immensely difficult time for Beth’s loved ones, in particular Hazel and Beth’s children who lost their mum in such a tragic way. Being diagnosed with cancer is terrible enough, but then for Beth to die so suddenly has been nothing short of traumatic for her family."