Atlanta mom Cassandra Barksdale misdiagnosed with aggressive cancer, underwent full hysterectomy after lab mix-up: lawsuit
An Atlanta mom was told she had an aggressive form of cancer and underwent a full hysterectomy – before it later emerged the operation was completely unnecessary due to a lab mix-up, according to court documents.Cassandra Barksdale, 43, learned she apparently had just years to live when doctors gave her the results from another patient’s biopsy last March, according to a lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday and viewed by The Post.She went to the Kaiser Permanente Southwood Medical Center in Jonesboro, Georgia, last January to have her uterine fibroids checked over after experiencing bleeding.A biopsy was carried out, but another patient’s tissue sample was labeled as if it was Barksdale’s, according to the court documents.In March 2025, Barksdale was told she had a “high-grade, aggressive endometrial uterine cancer” even though a subsequent CT scan showed “no evidence of cancer or [the] spread of cancer.”A doctor “recommended a total hysterectomy,” which included removing her cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries.She also had four lymph nodes removed.Pathology reports showed no signs of cancer, but doctors recommended she should undergo chemotherapy. But in September 2025, doctors told Barksdale that the cancerous tissue belonged to a different patient.
They were seemingly unaware they were living with the disease.This was around four months after Barksdale was given the news she had cancer.Barksdale alleged negligence and claimed she suffered “sustained, permanent and irreversible injuries,” and the plight has left her with a “fear of future medical treatment… and distrust.”“My sons went into a deep depression,” Barksdale revealed at a press conference Tuesday, describing the impact of her plight on her family.“I had to contact my kids to let them know that I have five years to live and that I’m going to die because I have aggressive cancer.”“I started contacting other attorneys to try to get trust funds so that way I...