People in Newfoundland and Labrador are "insulted" and "angry" that late Friday, Eastern Health chose to tell the public that 43 more women need to have their breast cancer tests re-done, one official says, in what has become a seemingly never-ending faulty test-result scandal in the province.

Eastern Health issued a news release around 4 p.m. Friday that indicated that 38 breast cancer patients needed to be re-tested. The agency raised that number to 43 during a press conference on Monday.

The information was buried in a news release that was headed: "Eastern Health Moves Forward with Cameron Recommendations," citing the recently completed Cameron Inquiry that looked into how nearly 400 women received botched test results going back to 1997.

The Cameron Inquiry found breakdowns in accountability and oversight, and also found that Eastern Health failed to notify affected patients in a timely manner.

Friday's move angered Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams, who said Eastern Health officials "should be shot over it, they have learned nothing from the (inquiry)."

Peter Dawe, the executive director of the Canadian Cancer Society of Newfoundland, said the premier's remarks reflect the frustration and anger felt by many residents of the province.

He said that because the inquiry found there to be communication breakdowns within Eastern Health and between the agency and the public, the Friday news release indicates that they have not changed their strategy for getting timely information to patients and the public.

"People were quite insulted, angry and frustrated by that, and certainly that came out in the premier's remarks," Dawe said Tuesday on Canada AM.

The province's breast cancer testing scandal broke in 2005, when it was revealed that 386 breast cancer patients received incorrect test results that were to determine their courses of treatment.

At least 108 patients whose tests were misread died. It is not known how many of them, if any, died because they did not receive the correct treatment.

According to Patricia Pilgrim, the chief operating officer for cancer care and quality risk management for Eastern Health, of the 43 new patients, 27 are deceased, 11 do not need a change in treatment and four may need new treatment if their results change with re-testing.

Lorraine Hudson was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003. She had a lumpectomy to remove the cancerous tumour and received both chemotherapy and radiation.

Hudson was told that her breast cancer was ER negative, meaning that the tumour was not feeding off the hormone estrogen. However, that turned out to be incorrect, meaning Hudson missed a year of follow-up treatment to block the hormone.

"I'm just devastated at the fact that at this stage of the game they came up with 43 more patients that need to be re-tested," Hudson told Canada AM. "After four or five years what's going on here? And to put the topping on the cake the way they announced it - late Friday - to the public. In my opinion, I don't think they know what they're doing."

Pilgrim defended the Friday release of information, saying the agency acted as soon as it had confirmed patient numbers.

"Eastern Health, along with health authorities everywhere, is working hard to find an appropriate balance between disclosing information directly to our patients, which is our first priority, while also informing the public of as much detail as we can, in a timely manner," Pilgrim said on Monday. "This is a very delicate balance."

Pilgrim said the new cases came to light during an ongoing review of thousands of breast cancer patients' charts. That review will continue for another four weeks, she said.