Amputee 'was told to squeeze' cancerous tumour in leg

Carl Pinkett said anyone in doubt of their GP's diagnosis should get a second opinion

A man says he had to have his leg amputated after a cancerous growth on his thigh was misdiagnosed as "a nasty insect bite".

Carl Pinkett, 48, said he was told by a GP at Strelley Medical Centre in Nottingham to have a hot bath and squeeze the lump on his right leg.

Doctors later found a tumour "the length of a size-nine shoe".

The BBC has contacted the practice, which was closed by inspectors earlier this month to "protect patients".

The Care Quality Commission said there were "a number of concerns" over services at the medical centre.

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Mr Pinkett, from Bilborough, Nottingham, said he first visited his GP in 2012 with a pain in his leg but was told it was "growing pains" coming from his muscle.

The following year he returned when a lump the size of a marble appeared. He saw a different GP and says he was told it was a "nasty insect bite".

After making an appointment at a different surgery, Mr Pinkett was referred to Nottingham City Hospital where it was confirmed he had a soft tissue sarcoma - a rare cancer.

He underwent a 10-hour operation to remove the 10in-long (25cm) tumour but, following subsequent radiotherapy, his leg had to be removed in 2015.

Since having the tumour in his leg removed, Mr Pinkett has been diagnosed with cancer in his lung and chest

Mr Pinkett believes his leg could have been saved if the cancer had been diagnosed earlier.

In 2016, Mr Pinkett had to have a section of his right lung removed after the cancer spread. He is now undergoing treatment for cancer in his chest.

Mr Pinkett said the whole ordeal has left him and his family "traumatised".

"I do feel angry... it's hard to trust people after this. You put your trust in GPs," he said.

Sarcoma UK, the charity that supports people with the cancer, said sarcomas could be difficult to diagnose at an early stage.