Medical Malpractice: Failure to Diagnose or Misdiagnosis Cancer
Cancer is one of the largest fields of disease that can be deadly to human beings. A vast area of the medical world is devoted to alleviating, preventing and treating this devastating illness. Despite the fact that cancer is one of the deadliest disease known to man, the negligence of a doctor can make circumstances even worse.
Cancer affects people at all ages with the risk for most types increasing with age. Cancer caused about 13% of all human deaths in 2007 (7.6 million). Cancer is caused by abnormalities in the genetic material of the transformed cells. Cancer promoting genetic abnormalities may randomly occur through errors in DNA replication, and/or is inherited, thus present in all cells from birth. The heritability of cancers is usually affected by complex interactions between carcinogens and the host's genome. Carcinogens of course being tobacco smoke, radiation, chemicals, or infectious agents. Symptoms of cancer can vary quite greatly, and ultimately depend on the location of where the outbreak has occurred. For example, lung cancer can cause coughing, shortness of breath, or chest pain. Colon cancer often causes diarrhea, constipation, and blood in the stool. Some cancers may not have any symptoms at all. In certain cancers, such as gallbladder cancer, symptoms often do not start until the disease has reached an advanced stage. Most types of cancer are actually treatable at a relatively high rate if found and diagnosed early on to its development.
When it comes to the care of their patients, doctors must make certain that they are providing the highest level of detail and concern possible. If a doctor or healthcare provider fails to provide proper care, they should be held accountable for their action, or lack there of. Late diagnosis causing complications, as well as misdiagnosis, are the most common types of negligence associated with cancer. A late diagnosis has the potential to allow completely operable cancer cells to reach a point beyond reclamation. Misdiagnosis may also leave victims in a state of utter devastation. Cancer is the leading cause of death in the United States every year. Medical professionals have a duty to bring that number as low as possible by paying attention to their patients; complaints, ordering proper tests, and referring to specialists.
"The National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative [NAEDI] has been established to co-ordinate and drive efforts in this area. The size of the prize is large – potentially 5,000 to 10,000 deaths that occur within five years of diagnosis could be avoided every year."
There are five broad groups that are used to classify cancer.
- Carcinomas are characterized by cells that cover internal and external parts of the body such as lung, breast, and colon cancer.
- Sarcomas are characterized by cells that are located in bone, cartilage, fat, connective tissue, muscle, and other supportive tissues.
- Lymphomas are cancers that begin in the lymph nodes and immune system tissues.
- Leukemias are cancers that begin in the bone marrow and often accumulate in the bloodstream.
- Adenomas are cancers that arise in the thyroid, the pituitary gland, the adrenal gland, and other glandular tissues.
Cancer treatment depends on the type of cancer, the stage of the cancer (how much it has spread), age, health status, and additional personal characteristics. As such, it is imperative that you obtain the earliest possible diagnosis. There is no single treatment for cancer, and patients often receive a combination of therapies and palliative care. Treatments usually fall into one of the following categories: surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, hormone therapy, or gene therapy. If the cancer is confined to one location and has not spread, the most common goals for treatment are surgery and cure. This is often the case with skin cancers, as well as cancers of the lung, breast, and colon. If the tumor has spread to local lymph nodes only, sometimes these can also be removed. If surgery cannot remove all of the cancer, the options for treatment include radiation, chemotherapy, or both. Some cancers require a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
Commonly misdiagnosed or undiagnosed cancers are breast cancer, prostate cancer, stomach cancer, esophagus cancer and cervical cancer. This may occur when the following takes place:
- Failure to perform expensive tests when a patient has some symptoms but not all symptoms
- Failure to recognize serious symptoms
- Failure to perform biopsy when other tests appear normal
- Assume a diagnosis for an ailment rather than performing necessary tests
- Failure to refer patients to a specialist when necessary
- Failure to properly care for an underinsured patient or Medicaid patient
Most doctors and healthcare providers strive to do everything they can for their patients. However, if you feel your doctor or healthcare provider is not addressing your health concerns appropriately, or if you have unanswered questions, I implore you to obtain a second opinion. Nothing will ever replace your health and welfare. As the old saying goes, it is always better to be safe than sorry.
