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Man died fearing cancer never saw result showing tests were clear

Wednesday, 22 July 2026

The coroner has recommended doctors adopt a default position of telling patients clinically relevant test results – including reassuring ones – after an inquiry into the death of a Canterbury man.
The coroner has recommended doctors adopt a default position of telling patients clinically relevant test results – including reassuring ones – after an inquiry into the death of a Canterbury man.

A simple email, text message or communication telling a Canterbury man his cancer tests were clear may have reduced the likelihood of his suicide, a coroner has found.

William Esmond Lightowler, 63, died in June 2019 believing his bladder cancer may have returned, unaware tests carried out weeks earlier had found no evidence of the disease.

Associate Coroner Peter Buckle said it was impossible to know whether learning the reassuring results would have changed the outcome.

“I cannot say with certainty that Mr Lightowler would not have killed himself if he had known that his test results showed no return of his cancer,” Buckle said.

“However, it seems likely that providing that information to him would have reduced the likelihood of his suicide.”

Lightowler had been treated for bladder cancer in 2016 and continued to undergo regular monitoring.

A procedure in May 2019 found no evidence of precancerous changes, invasive disease or malignancy. His GP planned to discuss the reassuring results at a routine appointment, but Lightowler died before that happened.

The coroner found the long-term impact of Lightowler’s cancer treatment and his fear it had returned were the central pressures he faced.

He was also dealing with other significant stresses, including having to leave the rental home where he had lived for about 11 years and rehome his cat.

The findings highlight the importance of timely communication between health professionals and patients about medical test results.
The findings highlight the importance of timely communication between health professionals and patients about medical test results.

Lightowler had previously been diagnosed with anxiety, and a friend told the inquiry he had become increasingly overwhelmed in the months before his death.

The findings have prompted Buckle to recommend the default position should be that patients are advised of clinically relevant test results, whether positive or negative, while still allowing doctors to exercise clinical judgment.

“Only advising patients when a test is abnormal can leave a patient, such as Mr Lightowler, suffering undue stress and/or concern,” Buckle said.

“A simple email, text message, or communication using social media could assuage that concern.”

The Medical Council and the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners agreed with the intent of the recommendation but warned routinely communicating every result could place additional pressure on already stretched medical practices and overwhelm some patients.

Buckle accepted those concerns but maintained his recommendation, saying the starting point should be sharing clinically relevant information with patients.

“Providing information that a person does not have a medical problem – such as, in Mr Lightowler’s case, cancer – can be as important and impactful as providing information that a person does have a medical problem,” he said.

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