Georgia woman had unnecessary hysterectomy after lab mixup and cancer misdiagnosis, lawsuit says

U.S. newsGeorgia woman had unnecessary hysterectomy after lab mixup and cancer misdiagnosis, lawsuit saysCassandra Barksdale alleges that a tissue sample was mishandled by Kaiser Permanente after she sought help with abnormal bleeding, leading to the removal of her uterus and ovaries.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00ShareAdd NBC News to GoogleAug. 4, 2026, 4:36 PM EDTBy Doha MadaniAn Atlanta-area woman alleges that negligent handling of a tissue sample led to her being misdiagnosed with an aggressive form of uterine cancer and undergoing a full hysterectomy at the age of 43. Cassandra Barksdale was forced into premature menopause after doctors removed her cervix, uterus, fallopian, tubes and ovaries last year, according to a lawsuit filed in Clayton County, Georgia. The lawsuit names Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Of Georgia, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, and Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company as defendants in addition to lab technicians believed to have handled Barksdale’s sample. Kaiser Permanente did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment on Tuesday. She went to her doctor at a Kaiser Permanente center in January 2025 with concerns about abnormal uterine bleeding and uterine fibroids, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit said she was referred out for a consultation and had an endometrial tissue biopsy in March 2025. That tissue was submitted to an outside lab, Quest Diagnostics, for pathology.Barksdale was told on March 17, 2025, that she had high-grade, aggressive endometrial uterine cancer, the lawsuit said. She underwent a CT scan, which the suit alleges showed no signs of cancer, and was referred to a doctor at Northside Hospital Atlanta, the suit said. Barksdale’s new doctor recommended a total hysterectomy, the removal of her ovaries, and lymph node biopsies based on her previous imaging records and pathology reports, according to the lawsuit.But testing on Barksdale’s tissue after her surgery showed no signs of canc...