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For patients battling cancer, the last thing they want to be worrying about is whether they have a proper dosage of chemotherapy.

But, for patients in Canada, a recent mix-up has led to that exact set of concerns.

According to CTV News, nearly 1,200 patients were administered a diluted dose of two chemotherapy drugs. The patients at five hospitals, London Health Sciences Centre, Windsor Regional Hospital, Peterborough Regional Health Centre, Lakeridge Health and Saint John Regional Hospital, were administered chemotherapy drugs that had been diluted by between three and 20 percent by saline.

The error was realized last week by a pharmacy technician in Ontario. After administering the drugs to patients, the technician noticed that there was more liquid left in the bags than should have typically been the case. After calling attention to the situation, the dilution came to light.

The drugs involved are cyclophosphamide and gemcitabine. All of the hospitals purchased the drugs from the same source, Marchese Health Care, which combines and labels bags of drugs.

Investigators are attempting to determine the source of the problem. In the meantime, patients are receiving proper dosages since the problem was discovered. Marchese Healthcare has defended itself in a statement, saying, "Our preliminary investigation of this issue leads us to be confident that we have met the quality specifications of the contract we are [honored] to have been awarded."

According to the Windsor Star, medical errors are serious. However, the two drugs in question - cyclophosphamide and gemcitabine, which are used to treat cancers like breast cancer, lymphoma and lung cancer - are typically used in conjunction with other treatments. They are not considered to be the most important part of the treatments. In addition, the dosage problems were quite small, when the drugs are used in combination with other treatments.

The concern is that lower dosages of cancer treatments may lead to worse outcomes for patients. However, one expert said to CTV News that the research on these matters has been inconclusive.

Recent reports state that 17 patients given the diluted drugs have since died. However, investigators may never know whether their deaths were linked with the chemotherapy mix-up.