A 62-year-old Quebec woman is suing her pathologist after she underwent painful chemotherapy after being wrongly diagnosed with cancer.

Muriel Lavallée, of Ste-Therese, located outside Montreal, is seeking $200,000 in damages for physical pain, psychological suffering, and loss of salary.

In September 2004, Lavallée developed chest pains and difficulty breathing, prompting her to go to the hospital in Ste-Eustache, Que.

Tests revealed liquid deposits around her heart. An attending pathologist at the hospital analyzed the samples and concluded that Lavallée had cancer.

She then spent six months undergoing chemotherapy at the Sacré-Coeur hospital. Lavallée lost her hair and more than 60 pounds, and became anemic. 

At the hospital, she contracted C. difficile, a sometimes fatal infection, and had to be hospitalized again for another three weeks.

In March 2005, she received news from another doctor that she never had cancer.

"I was completely destroyed," she said. "And to think now, I was holding back people on waiting lists for chemotherapy that actually needed treatment."

The medical ordeal forced Lavallée to quit her job. She now depends on a friend to take care of her at home.

Her lawyer, Jean-Pierre Menard, said Lavallée was unable to resume work, and was seriously impaired physically and psychologically.

A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal reports there are 70,000 medical mistakes in Canada each year, but serious misdiagnoses are far more rare.

The doctor who misdiagnosed Lavallée retired two years ago and the hospital isn't commenting on the case.

The allegations have not been proven in court and the defendant has not yet filed a response.

The case is scheduled to go to court in July.