THE widow of a man who died after a botched cancer diagnosis by a consultant has spoken of her family's heartbreak. Grandfather David Hall, 64, of Carlton Avenue, Gillingham, had been referred to surgeon Christopher Butler because of a mole on his back.

But Dr Butler failed to send Mr Hall's life-threatening tumour away for analysis and he died after the disease spread. Mr Hall's devastated family have now welcomed a General Medical Council ruling that found Dr Butler, 51, from Bredhurst, guilty of serious professional misconduct.

Dr Butler was given a "severe reprimand," although he will be able to continue in medicine.

Mr Hall's widow, Barbara, 57, said: "I am very relieved it's all over and grateful for the way the GMC considered the case. We are still devastated. I lost a wonderful husband and our children lost a wonderful father.

"I know David would never have been cured - you can't cure cancer at that stage - but we could have had a bit more time before he died. Two days before he died, David said we should fight this case. I feel that now it is over we can begin to move on. This is what he would have wanted."

Mrs Hall stressed: "I would say that if you are in our position, get a second opinion, but Dr Butler should have known." John Gimlette, for the GMC, told the committee how Mr Hall went to his GP after an itchy mole started to bleed. His doctor feared it could be cancerous and referred him to Dr Butler at Alexandra Hospital, Walderslade, Chatham, in 1998.

There, Dr Butler removed the mole on his back and further growths, including one under the armpit, because they were slowly enlarging, but failed to send the mole for analysis. But when Mr Hall went to see Dr Butler, he was told the results of the report were fine and everything was benign.

"This was untrue, because there was no report," said Mr Gimlette. Over the next year, unknown to him, cancer ravaged his body. Mr Hall died on December 3 last year.

Dr Butler accepted that his treatment fell below a reasonable level. He admitted he did not send the tumours to the pathology lab, because he assumed they were not malignant, but denied serious professional misconduct.

GMC committee chairman Roland Doven said: "Your failure to ensure that you had sent the specimens, or that the pathology report regarding Mr Hall was available before telling him that the biopsy results were benign, were fundamental failings of a very serious nature."

But he added: "We are prepared to accept this was an isolated, though serious, failure in an otherwise unblemished career."