Eric Spangs’ life was turned upside down when he was told he had prostate cancer and underwent surgery to have it removed. He later learned he was misdiagnosed.
The life-changing medical mistake has done exactly that, changed Spangs’ life forever.
“I’m sad, I’m depressed,” Eric Spangs said. “I have an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness a lot the time.”
Eric and his wife Melissa were devastated when they were told he had cancer. “I thought ‘Oh my God,’ what am I going to do if I lose him, we have five children,” Eric’s wife, Melissa, said.
In January, Eric had a radical laparoscopic prostatectomy to “save” his life. But they were eventually informed that the doctors made a mistake.
“The error occurred in the preparation and reading of his biopsy. It was another patient’s biopsy that was put on those slides,” attorney Aaron Freiwald said.
Spang’s attorney has since filed a medical malpractice lawsuit on his behalf, CBS Local News reported.
“This is the most egregious story I’ve ever heard,” Freiwald said.
The Spangs, both 48, have been significantly impacted by the mistake.
“There’s always urinary leakage, there’s erectile dysfunction. They’ve taken away my ability to be a man, they’ve taken away my emotional stability,” Eric said.
The American Cancer Society urges people to get second opinions from oncology specialists, which Eric did, but they were all from the same medical group that unfortunately doesn’t specialize in oncology.
