By . Eddie Wrenn . PUBLISHED: . 08:43 EST, 23 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 15:00 EST, 23 April 2012 . Bereft: Devastated husband John Wonfor said his wife Carol could still be alive if her suspicions had been acted on . A widower who claims medics misdiagnosed his wife’s cancer used her funeral to send a poignant message urging medical staff to listen to their patients. Devastated John Wonfor, 66, says his wife Carol repeatedly told her doctors that stomach pains they wrote off as irritable bowel syndrome and thyroid problems were actually cancer. Mrs Wonfor, 62, of Selby, North Yorkshire, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in September 2010 and operated on in October, but doctors couldn’t stop the disease from spreading and she sadly died earlier this month. Her husband, a retired glazier, has now sent a message to medical professionals at his wife’s service, using the flowers in her hearse to spell out the word ‘Listen’. The father-of-two and grandfather-of-five, who cared for his wife for 18 months before her death, said: 'I believe Carol was misdiagnosed severely. 'I don’t want to point the finger at one doctor or one nurse. I just want medical professionals to listen to their patients.' Mr Wonfor thinks that if doctors had listened to his wife, she could still be alive today. 'They could have just humoured her. It might have helped,' he said. 'The bottom line is people should listen. It doesn’t cost a bean to listen.' He explained that his wife first complained of stomach pains three years ago when they lived in Middlesex, where she visited doctors complaining of stomach pains, but was told she had a thyroid problem. But when they moved to Yorkshire two-and-a-half years ago, she visited The Beech Tree surgery to ask for investigations. The hearse carrying the coffin of Carol Wonfor stopped outside the GP's surgery to deliver the message . Mr Wonfor explained: 'My wife went to . the surgery when we moved up here and told them that she was sure there . was something more going on, and asked for a scan. 'But they told her that she didn’t qualify for one. Carol Wonfor, aged 62, died earlier this month after 18 months of chemotherapy . 'My . wife was a medical receptionist for 12 years. She felt like she had . seen people in this situation for years and now she was the one fighting . to be heard. 'She told me that she thought she might have cancer. Beech Tree said it was IBS but we know now it was cancer.' Mrs Wonfor was referred to an oncologist who realised the problem was something more sinister and sent her for a a scan. She was told she had bowel cancer and was started on a course of chemotherapy. Mr Wonfor said: 'Once Carol started receiving treatment, we had no complaints. Everyone who treated her or looked after her couldn’t have done more.' But after 18 months of chemotherapy, doctors told the couple there was nothing more they could do, as the cancer had spread to her liver and lungs. She eventually died of liver failure. Grieving friends and relatives remembered her at Brayton St Wilfred’s Church in Selby, where the hearse carrying her coffin and flowers spelling the word ‘Listen’ were driven to the Beech Tree surgery. Mr Wonfor said his wife never enjoyed her 'Bucket List' activities before her death such as seeing the Northern Lights and the Great Wall of China. The couple also hoped to travel in a renovated camper van that now sits abandoned on the driveway. Beech Tree practice manager Richard Gregory said: 'We have no comment to make.' 'Listen': The heartfelt message displayed in Mr Wonfor's garden before the funeral .
Carol, 62, passed away this month from bowel cancer .
Devastated widower says doctors ignored her belief she had cancer .
Grandfather-of-five uses funeral to send poignant message to GPs .
By . Eddie Wrenn . PUBLISHED: . 08:43 EST, 23 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 15:00 EST, 23 April 2012 . Bereft: Devastated husband John Wonfor said his wife Carol could still be alive if her suspicions had been acted on . A widower who claims medics misdiagnosed his wife’s cancer used her funeral to send a poignant message urging medical staff to listen to their patients. Devastated John Wonfor, 66, says his wife Carol repeatedly told her doctors that stomach pains they wrote off as irritable bowel syndrome and thyroid problems were actually cancer. Mrs Wonfor, 62, of Selby, North Yorkshire, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in September 2010 and operated on in October, but doctors couldn’t stop the disease from spreading and she sadly died earlier this month. Her husband, a retired glazier, has now sent a message to medical professionals at his wife’s service, using the flowers in her hearse to spell out the word ‘Listen’. The father-of-two and grandfather-of-five, who cared for his wife for 18 months before her death, said: 'I believe Carol was misdiagnosed severely. 'I don’t want to point the finger at one doctor or one nurse. I just want medical professionals to listen to their patients.' Mr Wonfor thinks that if doctors had listened to his wife, she could still be alive today. 'They could have just humoured her. It might have helped,' he said. 'The bottom line is people should listen. It doesn’t cost a bean to listen.' He explained that his wife first complained of stomach pains three years ago when they lived in Middlesex, where she visited doctors complaining of stomach pains, but was told she had a thyroid problem. But when they moved to Yorkshire two-and-a-half years ago, she visited The Beech Tree surgery to ask for investigations. The hearse carrying the coffin of Carol Wonfor stopped outside the GP's surgery to deliver the message . Mr Wonfor explained: 'My wife went to . the surgery when we moved up here and told them that she was sure there . was something more going on, and asked for a scan. 'But they told her that she didn’t qualify for one. Carol Wonfor, aged 62, died earlier this month after 18 months of chemotherapy . 'My . wife was a medical receptionist for 12 years. She felt like she had . seen people in this situation for years and now she was the one fighting . to be heard. 'She told me that she thought she might have cancer. Beech Tree said it was IBS but we know now it was cancer.' Mrs Wonfor was referred to an oncologist who realised the problem was something more sinister and sent her for a a scan. She was told she had bowel cancer and was started on a course of chemotherapy. Mr Wonfor said: 'Once Carol started receiving treatment, we had no complaints. Everyone who treated her or looked after her couldn’t have done more.' But after 18 months of chemotherapy, doctors told the couple there was nothing more they could do, as the cancer had spread to her liver and lungs. She eventually died of liver failure. Grieving friends and relatives remembered her at Brayton St Wilfred’s Church in Selby, where the hearse carrying her coffin and flowers spelling the word ‘Listen’ were driven to the Beech Tree surgery. Mr Wonfor said his wife never enjoyed her 'Bucket List' activities before her death such as seeing the Northern Lights and the Great Wall of China. The couple also hoped to travel in a renovated camper van that now sits abandoned on the driveway. Beech Tree practice manager Richard Gregory said: 'We have no comment to make.' 'Listen': The heartfelt message displayed in Mr Wonfor's garden before the funeral .
her funeral to send a poignant message urging Devastated John Wonfor, 66, says his wife Carol earlier this month. Her husband, a retired scan. She was told she had bowel cancer and was