Diagnosed With Advanced Colon Cancer? Did Your Doctor Cause A Delay In Diagnosing You?
One of the types of cases pursued by a cancer lawyer are those that deal with colon cancer. One of the situations that most commonly happen result from a doctor having reassured a patient that the blood they detected in their stool was due purely to hemorrhoids when in reality the patient actually has colon cancer. Among the other most frequently seen delayed diagnosis situations involve advanced breast cancer, advanced prostate cancer and advanced colon cancer. Let’s, however, for now just consider colon cancer.
A pattern that goes on far too commonly includes a doctor telling a patient who has complaints of blood in the stool that the patient only has hemorrhoids and there is nothing to fret about. Yet, the blood is really as a result of colon cancer all along. How does this happen and what options does the patient and his or her family have when it does happen?
The first thing to note is that most doctors are in agreement that if a patient presents with rectal bleeding or blood in the stool a colonoscopy should be completed to figure out the cause of the blood. The colonoscopy is a procedure that helps determine whether the blood is the result of colon cancer or something else such as hemorrhoids. Although blood in the stool is probably due to something other than colon cancer not performing the right tests places the patient at risk of having cancer that will keep growing and spreading every day it is not found.
When a patient with rectal bleeding undergoes a colonoscopy and the cancer is detected before it has spread to the lymph nodes or migrate to other organs, the cancer can, in many cases, be eliminated by taking it out during the colonoscopy if it is sufficiently small or by surgically taking out the section of the colon that contains the tumor. If the patient actually has cancer then not letting the patient know that the blood may be due to cancer the doctor effectively impedes the diagnosis. The delay can lead to the advancement of the cancer so that it metastasizes. At that point, there are fewer treatment options and a much lower likelihood of survival.
Based on the laws of the jurisdiction where the physician caused the delay, this might give rise to a claim for which a medical malpractice lawyer or in the most extreme case, a wrongful death lawyer may be able to help you!. Obviously, the above is meant only as basic information regarding certain varieties of possible medical malpractice cases rather than as legal or medical advice. You should consult with a doctor concerning any medical issues or medical advice.