It was intended that the woman would continue taking that medication for one year after chemotherapy but due to a number of systematic failures that didn't happen.
Instead, the medication was stopped early and the woman's hepatitis B returned. As a result, she required a liver transplant.
"We only hope that no one else will need to suffer in the same way again," the family said in the report.
Health and Disability Commissioner Morag McDowell was critical of the DHB for not providing inadequate information about continuing her medication but didn't address accusations of racism specifically.
"There was no clear plan to ensure the woman stayed on lamivudine following chemotherapy.
"As a consequence, her prescription for lamivudine was stopped too early and this went
unnoticed resulting in her hepatitis B being reactivated," McDowell said.
The commissioner recommended the DHB provide an update on the changes made as a result of this event, use an anonymised version of the report as a case study during education sessions, and provide a written apology to the woman.
The family also expressed concerns about "institutional racism" saying communication from the DHB was problematic as it was only verbal and English was the woman's second language.
A family member said medical staff also assumed she was to blame for not completing the course of medication which led to liver failure.
"This was completely inaccurate and demonstrates at the very least, unconscious bias on
the part of the staff concerned," they said in the report.
The DHB acknowledged the family's comments about institutional racism saying: "The DHB recognises it has an obligation to do better for Māori and Pacific patients who
unquestionably do experience inequitable health outcomes."
It also said risks in stopping the medication could have been done in a way the woman could better understand and remember.
