More than a dozen cases of cancer being misdiagnosed as a minor ailment have been brought to light thanks to a weekly newspaper.

“Scores” of readers have come forward to the Banbury Guardian after it told the story of a woman whose diagnosis was delayed by Banbury’s Horsefair Surgery after she was given vitamin D pills for symptoms that turned out to be a cancer.

The story’s publication caused what the Guardian called a “huge response” on social media, with dozens of patients complaining of being unable to see a GP, losing the ability to form a relationship with a family doctor, difficulty getting appointments and not getting the right tests and treatment.

Among the complaints to come to light were cases of cancers which were initially diagnosed as minor ailments, prompting the paper to run a further special report on the issue. Most, but not all, of the reports of misdiagnosis were about Horsefair Surgery.

Guardian journalist Roseanne Edwards, pictured, told HTFP: “The story of the misdiagnosis going on social media led to hundreds of comments, the majority very critical of this surgery, and among them were 13 cases of misdiagnosis – most leading to death because cancer was far advanced when it was discovered.

“I then got emails from people giving their more explained experiences and this became the basis for the special report.

“Many people have sent messages thanking us for highlighting what they say is a less than adequate service offered by this GP surgery. Some patients of course were not critical but it was worrying to see the bad stories.”

Louise Patten, chief executive of Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, told the Guardian: “We are always concerned when we hear patients share their poor experience and would encourage anyone who is unhappy with their care to talk directly to their practice.”