The hospital denies liability

Mick Cooper, from Chippenham, is now acting as claimant in the action launched by his wife Helen.

Mrs Cooper died in September after giving evidence from a wheelchair.

The 51-year-old claimed staff at Royal United Hospital (RUH) in Bath failed to detect her illness between 1999 and 2002. The RUH denies liability.

'Perfect wife'

In court, Mrs Cooper, a health visitor who had worked for the NHS for 34 years, told the judge: "It was my worst nightmare that I would end up with breast cancer."

The judge said everyone had been anxious to ensure that Mrs Cooper, who had been in a "considerable" amount of pain at that time, was given the chance to give her evidence.

Her claim against the Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust resumed on Monday at the High Court in London before Mr Justice Butterfield.

As Mr Cooper went into the witness box to give evidence on his wife's behalf, both the judge and Simon King, counsel for the defendant, expressed their condolences.

After his wife's death, Mr Cooper had said: "Helen was the perfect wife, the perfect mother.

"Her loss only makes us even more determined to pursue this."

Most of the evidence of Monday centred around an appointment for a biopsy.

The trust claims Mrs Cooper had expressed concerns about such an examination and did want to attend the appointment.

Mrs Cooper's family argue that she did not know about the appointment and would have attended if she had known.

They allege her cancer may have been diagnosed earlier if she had attended.

A judgement is expected on Wednesday.