A Sydney father whose bowel cancer was mistaken for haemorrhoids has won his case against a GP after a judge found the delayed diagnosis robbed him of almost five years of life expectancy.
asserted
diagnosis → mistake → expectancy
Personal trainer Ross Peterkin, now aged in his early 40s, sued Dr Abram Tadros, alleging his cancer should have been investigated earlier after he presented with rectal bleeding, pain and other bowel symptoms in August 2022.
asserted
he → sue → August
The NSW Supreme Court found Dr Tadros breached his duty of care and that proper questioning and referral would probably have led to Mr Peterkin being diagnosed by February 2023.
asserted
Peterkin → find → February
But in a rare twist, the court also found Mr Peterkin negligent, ruling his own actions contributed to the delay.
asserted
actions → find → delay
He failed to raise his continuing bowel problems at subsequent doctor visits and, after being referred to colorectal surgeon Dr Auerilius Hamilton in October 2023, waited 137 days before acting.
asserted
He → fail → days
'Those failures contributed to the delay in diagnosis from February 2023 to May 2024,' Justice Gregory Sirtes said.
uncertain
Sirtes → contribute → May
Justice Sirtes found the delay reduced Mr Peterkin's life expectancy from about February 2032 to mid-2027, a loss of approximately 4.75 years.
asserted
delay → find → years
In Facebook messages to his wife, Kristy-Lee, with whom he had planned to have a second child, Mr Peterkin described his escalating discomfort hours before the consultation with Dr Tadros.
asserted
Peterkin → plan → Tadros
Ross Peterkin (pictured) was first diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer in May 2024 before later learning the disease had spread
Mr Peterkin (left) and his wife Kristy-Lee (right) and their young daughter
Mr Peterkin alleges Sydney doctor Abram Tadros (pictured) failed to treat him early enough and claims the delay allowed the cancer to progress
'I am so f***ing uncomfortable.
uncertain
I → picture → him
I can hardly concentrate.
asserted
I → concentrate → ?
I am bloated too, so hopefully I am just constipated but [I will] have to change my diet if that is the case,' Mr Peterkin said.
asserted
Peterkin → have → diet
'This is f***ed, I need to go to the toilet so badly nothing comes out,' he wrote shortly afterwards.
asserted
he → need → toilet
'I am actually starting to feel like s*** too.'
asserted
I → start → *
Earlier that morning, Mr Peterkin had told his wife he thought he finally needed to see a doctor about bowel problems he had experienced since contracting Covid.
asserted
he → tell → Covid
Kristy-Lee replied: 'If theres [sic] blood I suggest sooner rather than later.'
During the consultation, Dr Tadros recorded painful defecation and minimal rectal bleeding and diagnosed Mr Peterkin with haemorrhoids following a visual examination.
asserted
Tadros → reply → examination
No digital rectal examination was performed.
asserted
examination → perform → ?
Mr Peterkin was prescribed a suppository, given an information pamphlet on haemorrhoids and told to return if his symptoms persisted.
asserted
symptoms → prescribe → haemorrhoids
However, Justice Sirtes rejected Dr Tadros' evidence that he had actually identified a haemorrhoid during the examination.
asserted
he → reject → examination
Justice Gregory Sirtes (pictured) found the delayed diagnosis reduced Mr Peterkin's life expectancy by approximately 4.75 years
The judge found the consultation instead 'focused on the haemorrhoid to the exclusion of the other symptoms', adding that Dr Tadros 'functionally ignored those symptoms'.
asserted
Tadros → picture → symptoms
The court also rejected Dr Tadros's evidence that he had offered Mr Peterkin a digital rectal examination and that the patient declined it.
asserted
patient → reject → it
Dr Tadros was not Mr Peterkin's usual GP and Mr Peterkin failed to raise his continuing bowel problems during a series of subsequent medical appointments.
asserted
Peterkin → fail → appointments
In October 2023, he returned to his usual GP, Dr Samira Etemad, seeking another prescription for haemorrhoid cream.
asserted
he → return → cream
Dr Etemad took a full history, with Mr Peterkin reporting rectal bleeding several times a week for about 12 months.
asserted
Peterkin → take → months
She considered internal haemorrhoids, a polyp, inflammatory bowel disease and cancer among the possible causes and referred him to colorectal surgeon Dr Hamilton.
asserted
She → consider → Hamilton
But by another appointment in February 2024, Mr Peterkin was still bleeding and had not made the specialist appointment.
asserted
Peterkin → bleed → appointment
He had also developed pressure in his anal area, prompting Dr Etemad to consider cancer likely, or at least one of the more probable diagnoses, and urged him to see Dr Hamilton 'ASAP'.
asserted
cancer → develop → Hamilton
Mr Peterkin's wife Kristy-Lee said RPA surgeons performed a miracle procedure
Mr Peterkin finally saw Dr Hamilton in March and was initially recommended for a colonoscopy within 30 days.
asserted
Peterkin → say → days
However, the hospital downgraded his priority, recording 'no critical symptoms in a 40-year-old'.
asserted
hospital → downgrade → old
Dr Hamilton sought an earlier procedure, citing pencil-shaped stools, rectal pain disturbing Mr Peterkin's sleep and persistent tenesmus, the sensation of urgently needing to empty the bowels.
asserted
Hamilton → seek → bowels
His case was upgraded and a colonoscopy followed 13 days later.
asserted
colonoscopy → upgrade → ?
A digital examination revealed a hard mass about 10cm from the anal opening before the colonoscopy discovered a 6cm rectal tumour.
asserted
colonoscopy → reveal → tumour
Mr Peterkin was diagnosed with stage 3B bowel cancer.
asserted
Peterkin → diagnose → cancer
The cancer was later found to have spread to four lymph nodes and ultimately progressed to incurable stage 4 disease.
asserted
cancer → find → disease
By December 2025, Mr Peterkin's condition had deteriorated dramatically and he was rushed to Campbelltown Hospital with a bowel obstruction.
asserted
he → deteriorate → obstruction
His friend Kailea Bailey, who launched a GoFundMe for the family, said Mr Peterkin underwent surgery but his family was subsequently told there was nothing more that could be done and to prepare for the end of his life.
However, his wife Kristy-Lee pushed for him to be transferred to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
uncertain
him → launch → Hospital
Expert radiation oncologist Susan Pendlebury (pictured) said Ross Peterkin's cancer was already present at the August 2022 consultation but was not yet locally advanced
'
asserted
cancer → picture → consultation
RPA had said, "Send him straight here, don't stuff around",' Ms Bailey said.
asserted
Bailey → say → him
They got him into surgery first thing Boxing Day.
asserted
They → get → surgery
The surgeons there worked an actual miracle.
asserted
surgeons → work → miracle
'
Mr Peterkin has since made gradual improvements but now lives with a permanent stoma, Ms Bailey said.
asserted
Bailey → make → stoma
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
