Georgia Mother Underwent Hysterectomy Before Learning Cancerous Biopsy Belonged to Another Woman

A Georgia woman underwent a full hysterectomy after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer — only to learn months later that the cancerous biopsy belonged to someone else.

Cassandra Barksdale filed a negligence lawsuit this week in Clayton County against Kaiser Permanente, a senior laboratory information analyst and five unknown agents or employees of the organization, according to a report Law & Crime published on Thursday, August 6. The suit claims a mishandled tissue specimen led doctors to remove her uterus, cervix, ovaries, fallopian tubes and four lymph nodes for a cancer she never had.

Per the report, the complaint explains that Barksdale first went to Kaiser Permanente’s Southwood Medical Center in January 2025 for abnormal uterine bleeding and uterine fibroids, and underwent an endometrial biopsy on March 10, 2025. The lawsuit alleges staff failed to properly identify, label and track her tissue specimen before it was sent to Quest Diagnostics, causing another patient’s sample to be mistakenly attributed to her.

According to the complaint, pathology results showed “high grade endometrial uterine carcinoma with serous features.” On March 17, Barksdale received a phone call telling her she had a “high-grade, aggressive” form of uterine cancer, the suit states.

“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,” Barksdale told Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA. “My sons went into a deep depression. It took a big hold over my family.”

Per Law & Crime, a CT scan performed shortly after showed no evidence of cancer, but Barksdale was still referred to an Atlanta gynecologic oncologist, who allegedly recommended a total hysterectomy without additional testing. She underwent the surgery on May 15, 2025. Lab analysis of the removed organs found “no morphologically malignant cells,” and a follow-up pathology report confirmed “no carcinoma was identified, and no malignancy was seen in the entire endometrial cavity.”

Despite those results, Barksdale claims doctors continued telling her she had cancer and should prepare for chemotherapy. According to the article, it wasn’t until September 23, 2025 that Kaiser administrators told her DNA testing showed the original cancerous biopsy “belongs to a different patient.”

Barksdale’s attorney, Roderick Edmond, said the lawsuit aims to uncover how the mix-up happened. “We’ve got computers, we’ve got science, we’ve got AI, how the hell did this happen?” he said, per the report. Edmond added that the discovery process could also reveal whether other patients were affected.

Per the report, Kaiser addressed the allegations in a statement: “Our most important responsibility is to safely, expertly and compassionately care for the people who entrust us with their health. If we make a mistake, it can have profound effects. Ms. Barksdale should not have experienced this.”

Barksdale claims the alleged mistake left her with permanent and irreversible injuries, including surgical menopause, as well as emotional distress, anxiety, depression and a fear of future medical treatment, the outlet reported. She is seeking unspecified damages, a jury trial, attorney’s fees and other relief. The allegations have not yet been proven in court.