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 could leave my house and have trust for my kids. It took a big hold over my family.”
She admitted that while relieved she didn’t have cancer, she experienced some mixed emotions.
“I was excited that I didn’t have cancer,” she said.
“But I was still upset because the person out there that got my tissue and was thinking that they only have fibroids, they’re walking around for seven months thinking they only have fibroids, and I was the one with the cancer.
“So it made me feel very, you know, I was very angry and sad, and I was very concerned about the other person.”
Barksdale’s lawyer, Roderick Edmond, was bewildered that the tissue mix-up occurred.
“We’ve got computers, we’ve got science, we’ve got AI, how the hell did this happen?” he told reporters.
Kaiser Permanente acknowledged the error.
“Ms. Barksdale should not have experienced this,” a spokesperson said.
“We have highly trained staff and very thorough processes in place to prevent errors like this from taking place. After this occurred last year, we took immediate steps to ensure it could not happen again.”
Barksdale is seeking $10,000 in damages and a jury trial.
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