Canadian doctor struck off after having sex with her cancer patient in hospital bed

A doctor has been struck off after starting an affair with a patient the day after telling him he had cancer.

Theepa Sundaralingam even had sex in a hospital bed with her patient after their relationship became more serious.

Their affair started when they swapped telephone numbers and followed each other on Instagram.

Those messages quickly became more graphic leading to a full-fledged affair.

After the authorities became aware of the relationship, the 37-year-old was hauled before a disciplinary hearing in Toronto, Canada.

The panel ruled that Ms Sundaralingam should be struck off.

The unnamed male patient said he felt abused by the doctor.

‘It’s difficult for me to talk to anybody about it because the reality is that I’m a male so for me to say, “Hey, I dated my oncologist,” it wouldn’t be a surprise for someone to say “Cool”.

‘But that’s not cool. That’s not the case because I feel abused, and it’s very difficult as a male to come out and say that about a female. It’s usually the other way around.’

He added: ‘I was physically emaciated and emotionally exposed and the loss of a critical relationship defeated me. What compounded this toll was her refusal to continue providing medical care at the same time.

‘At the time, I was unable to see the ramifications of dating my treating oncologist. I couldn’t see how vulnerable I was and how much power she had over me.’

The affair took place in early 2015 and started again in 2016.

The head of the disciplinary hearing, John Langs, said: ‘From virtually the beginning of your doctor/patient relationship, you crossed boundaries and ultimately sexually abused an extremely vulnerable patient suffering from a life-threatening illness.

‘The committee can only hope that this process prompts you to undergo a long, hard searching self-examination of what lies behind your abusive and abhorrent behaviour.’

Ms Sundaralingam was ordered to pay for the patient’s therapy.