According to the National Cancer Institute, more than two million people are expected to be diagnosed with cancer this year, while over 618,000 people are expected to die from cancer. One of the most critical factors in surviving cancer is receiving a prompt diagnosis from a qualified medical professional. If your doctor failed to diagnose cancer early, this could be the difference between life and death or a high quality of life vs. a much lower one.
To prevent your cancer from not being diagnosed in a timely manner, it’s essential that you know which cancers doctors fail to diagnose early, why these diagnostic errors occur, and the signs to look for. An experienced delayed cancer diagnosis lawyer from Powers & Santola, LLP can advise you of your legal rights if your healthcare provider failed to provide a timely diagnosis.
The Importance of Early Detection of Cancer
When you catch cancer early, your survival odds are much greater. For example, your five-year survival rate for breast cancer is 99% when caught early, but only 32% if it becomes distant. Similarly, prostate cancer, when localized, has a 99% survival rate but only a 37% survival rate when distant.
If medical professionals fail to accurately and timely diagnose cancer, the cancer can spread. This can, unfortunately, drastically reduce patients’ survival rates. If they survive, they may have to undergo invasive medical procedures and more aggressive medical treatments that they may have otherwise been able to avoid if the cancer had been diagnosed when it should have been.
Early detection allows for timely intervention and more effective treatment, thereby increasing the chances of a successful recovery.
Why Doctors Might Not Diagnose Cancer Early
Several factors may contribute to healthcare professionals making diagnostic mistakes that lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment, including:
- The absence of symptoms: Some cancers simply do not have symptoms at their early stages, or the patient may not notice symptoms. This is why having a thorough family and medical history is so essential. If the patient is at an increased risk of developing certain types of cancers, doctors can order diagnostic tests even before any symptoms emerge.
- The presence of similar symptoms: Many medical conditions have similar symptoms. Without the assistance of a discerning doctor who can differentiate between innocuous conditions and serious ones like cancer, the cancer may go undetected.
- Lack of experience, training, or education: The patient may only be seeing their primary care physician, who may not have the proper experience, training, or education to recognize possible signs of cancer. The doctor may fail to refer the patient to a specialist.
- The rarity of cancer: Some forms of cancer are so rare that medical professionals may not think it’s likely that a patient is suffering from one of them.
- Lab mistakes: The lab may make mistakes, including mixing up patient records or mishandling a sample, which can result in diagnostic inaccuracies.
- Lack of communication: Primary care doctors, specialists, laboratories, and other medical facilities may not communicate with each other about a patient’s health, creating gaps in the knowledge necessary to provide the best care.
- Failure to follow up: A doctor may order necessary tests to detect cancer, but fail to follow up about the results.
- False negatives: Diagnostic mistakes may occur that provide relief to a patient to learn they don’t have cancer, only for them to discover later that the results were wrong.
- Misinterpreting results: Doctors, lab technicians, and other medical providers may misinterpret test results, leading to the failure to diagnose cancer.
An experienced medical malpractice attorney can review your case to determine the root cause(s) of your failed cancer diagnosis and determine who is responsible for compensating you.
Common Diagnostic Errors Associated with Cancer
Diagnostic mistakes can take many forms, including the following
Failed Diagnosis
A failed diagnosis occurs when your doctor fails to diagnose you with cancer. You may only learn of your condition because it has advanced to a later stage or another healthcare provider diagnosed your condition. Your doctor may have erroneously ruled out cancer even though you have it.
Delayed Diagnosis
A delayed diagnosis occurs when your healthcare provider eventually diagnoses you with cancer. However, because of the delay, you have likely suffered harm, such as having an incurable form of cancer or having to undergo intensive medical interventions. Another healthcare provider under similar circumstances would have diagnosed the cancer sooner.
Misdiagnosis
A misdiagnosis involving cancer may take different forms. The healthcare professional could have diagnosed you with another medical condition. Or, they could have diagnosed you with the wrong form of cancer.
Different cancers respond differently to chemotherapy, radiation, medications, and other medical treatments. Additionally, if your healthcare team used an aggressive form of treatment on the wrong part of the body, you may have suffered pain and other negative consequences without receiving medical benefits. A misdiagnosis can also allow the cancer to progress.
False Positive
A false positive occurs when your doctor diagnoses you with cancer when you don’t actually have it. This can subject you to unnecessary, harmful, and expensive medical treatments.
Signs a Doctor Failed to Timely Diagnose Your Cancer
It can be challenging to determine whether a medical diagnosis you receive is accurate or not. You want to hope for the best and may be relieved if your doctor has cleared you of cancer. However, receiving an accurate diagnosis is more important than receiving one you want to hear.
If you suspect that your doctor may not have properly diagnosed you, check for the following warning signs that may indicate your suspicions are correct:
- Your doctor did not ask for a complete medical history.
- Your doctor dismissed your concerns or minimized them.
- Your doctor did not order any tests or the appropriate tests.
- Your condition does not show any signs of improving.
- Your doctor failed to refer you to a specialist.
- Your doctor refused to consider other alternatives when your condition failed to improve.
- You are suffering from worsening symptoms.
What to Do If Your Doctor Diagnosed Your Cancer Late
If you suspect that your doctor failed to diagnose you in a timely manner, take the following steps to protect your health and your legal claim:
- Seek a second opinion from a qualified medical provider.
- Request your medical records from your previous healthcare provider.
- Follow your doctor’s instructions.
- Keep detailed documentation of your injuries and damages.
- Contact an experienced medical malpractice lawyer.
Cancers That Doctors Diagnose Late
Healthcare providers can potentially fail to diagnose any form of cancer. However, some cancers are more likely to go undiagnosed due to the absence of noticeable symptoms, symptoms that are similar to other conditions, and other factors. These cancers include the following:
Breast Cancer
Breast cancer arises due to a sudden proliferation of cells in breast tissue. Symptoms of breast cancer are often identified during self-exams, such as:
- Thickened area of the breast skin that feels different from the surrounding tissue
- Changes in the breast skin’s color or in the skin over the breast
- Changes in the size, shape, or appearance of the breast
- Peeling, flaking, or scaling of bread skin
Radiologists might miss cancers on mammograms or dismiss lumps as benign.
Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer forms in the tissue of the prostate. Symptoms that may indicate prostate cancer can include:
- The frequent need to urinate, especially at night
- Problems starting or stopping a stream of urine
- The presence of blood in the urine or semen
- Pain or a burning sensation while urinating or ejaculating
- Leaking of urine while coughing or laughing
- Dull, deep pain in the pelvis, upper thighs, lower back, or ribs
Many times, prostate cancer causes no symptoms during its early stages, requiring doctors to be diligent about early screening to accurately diagnose patients.
Lymphoma
Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system, part of the immune system. Lymphoma occurs when a type of white blood cell becomes abnormal and multiplies, forming tumors. Lymphoma symptoms may include:
- Fever
- Night sweats
- Enlarged lymph nodes
These symptoms are often confused with common ailments, such as the flu or other infections.
Lung Cancer
Symptoms associated with lung cancer, such as difficulty breathing, coughing, and wheezing, may be attributed to other lung issues or respiratory diseases, such as asthma or COPD. Some doctors may dismiss lung cancer from consideration if the patient does not have a history of smoking.
Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is often called a “silent killer” because symptoms are frequently vague and easily attributed to other conditions. Early signs like bloating, abdominal discomfort, feeling full quickly, or urinary urgency are commonly dismissed as digestive issues or aging. By the time more obvious symptoms appear, the cancer has often spread beyond the ovaries, making it harder to treat successfully.
Cervical Cancer
Cervical and ovarian cancers are often overlooked because they may not have noticeable symptoms at early stages. Symptoms such as abnormal vaginal bleeding or pain during sex may not appear until the cancer has advanced.
Colorectal Cancer
Colorectal cancer is uncontrolled cell growth in the colon, rectum, or appendix. This condition is often misdiagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome or hemorrhoids when doctors fail to order appropriate tests to make an accurate diagnosis.
Pancreatic Cancer
Early-stage symptoms of pancreatic cancer are often subtle and mimic other, less serious medical problems, such as indigestion.
Melanoma and Skin Cancer
Melanoma is a form of skin cancer. Signs of melanoma can be subtle, causing healthcare providers to dismiss it as a mole, eczema, or another skin condition.
Kidney Cancer
Kidney cancer may be misdiagnosed as a kidney infection, cyst, or benign tumor. Misdiagnosis of kidney cancer often occurs when doctors fail to order tests, such as renal ultrasounds or follow-up after hearing about blood in the patient’s urine. Healthcare professionals can also misread ultrasounds, MRIs, CT scans, or X-rays.
Childhood Cancer
Cancer is relatively rare in children, which contributes to doctors failing to accurately diagnose many forms of childhood cancers, including:
- Leukemia
- Lymphoma
- Thyroid cancer
- Brain cancer
- Neuroblastoma
- Retinoblastoma
- Wilms tumor
- Rhabdomyosarcoma
- Bone cancer
Symptoms of childhood cancers can mimic those of other, less severe conditions. Children may also have difficulty communicating their symptoms to healthcare professionals. Still, doctors have a responsibility to
Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a rare respiratory cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. This medical condition is often dismissed or not considered by healthcare professionals due to its rarity and because asbestos is not found in most consumer products today.
Bladder Cancer
Bladder cancer usually forms in the lining of the bladder. Symptoms associated with bladder cancer include the following:
- Frequent urination
- Urgency of urination
- Incontinence
- Fatigue
- Abdominal pain
- Blood in the urine
- Pain or tenderness in the bones
Because other medical conditions can cause similar symptoms, it’s essential that a medical provider order various tests and conduct various medical procedures to make a definitive diagnosis.
Brain Cancer
Brain cancer usually forms as a brain tumor, which is a mass or growth of abnormal cells. These cells can grow quickly, leading to a high morbidity. Brain cancer misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis can be due to various factors, such as:
- Insufficient examinations by medical practitioners
- Misattributing symptoms to another disease or condition
- The simultaneous presence of two chronic diseases in a patient
- Failing to follow up on tests
Some medical conditions that are confused with brain cancer include migraine headaches, seizure disorder, spinal abscess, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, or stroke.
Contact Our Failure to Diagnose Lawyers for Legal Assistance
If you are concerned that your healthcare provider may have failed to diagnose your cancer in a timely manner, you should seek the opinion of a qualified doctor. You should also reach out to an experienced attorney for legal representation. You may be entitled to compensation for additional medical expenses, reduced earning capacity, and pain and suffering due to the delayed diagnosis.
An experienced lawyer from Powers & Santola, LLP can review your situation and explain your legal options. Our attorneys are routinely named as Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year and Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year. We have decades of legal experience and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for our clients. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Related:
- Cancer Misdiagnosis Settlements: What Compensation Could You Receive
- Delayed Cancer Diagnosis in Rochester: Do I Have a Case?
- What to Do If Your Doctor Missed Your Cancer Diagnosis
- Albany Cervical Cancer Screening Errors: Pap Smear Failures and HPV Testing Mistakes
- Syracuse Lung Cancer Failure to Diagnose Lawyer
