With early screening, doctors detect more cancers at earlier stages than ever before. This early detection helps prevent the cancer from growing, allowing for a complete recovery and much-improved survival odds. However, when doctors fail to conduct screening based on age alone, patients lose these potentially better outcomes.
If you were diagnosed with colon cancer after your doctor initially dismissed your symptoms due to your age, you may need to consult with an experienced medical malpractice attorney. They can help determine if you have a viable legal claim. Contact Powers & Santola, LLP for a free, no-obligation consultation.
What Is Colon Cancer?
Colon cancer is a growth of cells that starts in the colon, part of the large intestine. The colon is the first and longest part of the large intestine, which is the final part of the digestive system. The digestive system breaks down food for the body’s use.
Colon cancer typically begins as noncancerous polyps that form inside the colon and are capable of transforming into cancerous tumors. Polyps often do not cause symptoms, and they don’t generally cause cancer. However, some can evolve into colon cancers over time. Finding and removing polyps can help prevent colon cancer.
Symptoms of Colon Cancer?
Colon cancer often does not present with symptoms, which is why regular screening is so crucial. When symptoms are present, they may include:
- Rectal bleeding or blood in stool, especially if it is bright red or dark
- A change in bowel habits, such as diarrhea or constipation occurring more frequently than usual
- Ongoing abdominal pain or discomfort
- Cramps, bloating, or gas
- Weakness
- Constant fatigue or tiredness
- Unexplained weight loss
- A feeling that the bowel has not been fully emptied during bowel movements
Symptoms can vary, based on the cancer’s size and location in the large intestine. If someone has persistent symptoms, they may wish to consult a qualified medical professional.
Cancer Screening Guidelines for Colon Cancer
According to the American Cancer Society Guideline for Colorectal Cancer Screening, current cancer screening guidelines are based on the patient’s perceived level of risk, as follows:
Average Risk
Patients who are considered to be at an average risk of colon cancer are recommended to begin colon cancer screenings at age 45. A person is considered to be at an average risk under the guidelines if they do not have:
- A personal history of colorectal cancer, certain types of polyps, or inflammatory bowel disease
- A family history of colorectal history
- A confirmed or suspected hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome
- A personal history of getting radiation to the abdomen or pelvic area to treat another type of cancer
Screening should continue every ten years until age 75.
Increased or High Risk
People who have risk factors for colon cancer, as identified below, may need to start colorectal cancer screening before age 45. They may also need more frequent screening and specific test types. Some general guidelines provided by the Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer and other professional medical organizations include:
- Patients who have had certain types of polyps removed during a colonoscopy may need a repeat colonoscopy after three years, depending on the type, size, and number of polyps.
- People who have had colon or rectal cancer may need to have a colonoscopy one year after the surgery to remove the cancer. They may also have an MRI or proctoscopy with ultrasound.
- Individuals who have had radiation to the abdomen to treat a prior cancer may need to begin colon cancer screenings before age 45, usually beginning ten years after the radiation was given or age 35, whichever occurs last. They may also require screening every three to five years.
- People with inflammatory bowel disease may need follow-up colonoscopies every one to three years, depending on the patient’s individual risk factors.
- Individuals with certain genetic syndromes may need to have colonoscopies beginning at a younger age, possibly beginning in their teens. They may also require more frequent screenings.
Risk Factors for Colon Cancer
The Mayo Clinic identifies several different factors that can increase the risk of a person developing colon cancer, including the following:
- Older age: While colon cancer can form at any age, it is more common in people aged 50 or older. This is why routine cancer screenings often do not begin until age 45 or 50. However, in more recent years, the number of people younger than 50 who are developing colon cancer has been increasing, so an older age should not be the only deciding factor in determining whether a screening is warranted.
- Black race: Statistically, Black people in the United States are more likely to develop colon cancer than people of other races.
- Smoking: Smokers also have an increased risk of developing colon cancer.
- Obesity: Being obese increases the likelihood of developing and dying from colon cancer.
- Diabetes: Individuals with diabetes or insulin resistance have an increased risk of developing colon cancer.
- Low-fiber, high-fat diet: Eating a diet that is high in fat and low in fiber can also increase the risk of colon cancer. Eating a lot of red meat and processed meat has been linked to an increased risk of developing colon cancer.
- Not exercising regularly: A lack of regular exercise can increase the risk of developing colon cancer, while regularly exercising helps lower the risk.
- Alcohol intake: Drinking too much alcohol can also increase the risk of developing colon cancer.
- Inflammatory bowel diseases: Medical conditions that cause intestinal pain and swelling can increase the risk of colon cancer. This includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
- Certain inherited syndromes: Lynch syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis, and other inherited syndromes can increase the likelihood of colon cancer.
- A family history of colorectal cancer: Patients who have a blood relative who has colon cancer are more likely to be diagnosed with colon cancer than those who don’t. Risk increases further as the number of relatives with the condition increases.
- A personal history of polyps or colorectal cancer: If a person has previously had colon cancer or colon polyps, they are more likely to get colon cancer.
- History of radiation therapy: If the person previously had radiation therapy directed at the abdomen, this also increases the risk of colon cancer.
Medical professionals must consider all these risk factors and not make screening decisions based only on age.
How Age-Based Assumptions Contribute to a Delayed Diagnosis of Cancer
Younger people are increasingly being diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and doctors don’t know why. Knowing this, doctors should not base their screening recommendations for colon cancer on age alone. Those younger than 45 are often told they are too young to need a colonoscopy, but receiving this or other screening mechanisms can help save their lives. When doctors automatically assume that younger patients can’t acquire this potentially deadly disease, they delay when patients can start receiving care.
Dangers of Delayed Diagnoses
Like with most forms of cancer, the sooner that a patient receives an accurate diagnosis, the sooner they can begin treatment. They may be able to stop the progression of cancer and its spread to other parts of the body.
The survival odds of colon cancer are directly tied to where the cancer has spread to the following extent:
- Localized: In this stage of cancer, there is no indication that the cancer has spread outside the colon or rectum. The five-year survival rate is 91%.
- Regional: If the cancer is regional, it has spread outside the colon or rectum to nearby structures or lymph nodes. Regional colon cancer has a five-year survival rate of 74%.
- Distant: Distant colon cancer has a much lower five-year survival rate of 13% because the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body, such as the liver, lungs, or lymph nodes, where it is more difficult to treat.
When a healthcare provider unnecessarily delays treatment, it can lead to fatal consequences.
What Legal Options Exist When a Healthcare Provider’s Dismissal of Symptoms Leads to a Worse Stage of Cancer
If you have personally had your cancer spread because a healthcare provider failed to screen because of your age, you may have the right to file a medical malpractice claim. This type of legal claim seeks compensation under the negligent healthcare provider’s medical malpractice insurance, up to policy limits.
You may also have a legal claim against the healthcare facility or hospital that hired the negligent doctor.
In some cases, your lawyer might recommend that you file a medical malpractice lawsuit to pursue compensation for the damages that you have suffered, such as:
- Additional medical expenses
- Ongoing medical treatment, rehabilitation, surgeries, and therapy
- Future medical expenses
- Lost income and reduced earning capacity
- Physical and mental pain and suffering
- Reduced quality of life
For family members who have lost a loved one due to a delayed diagnosis, failed diagnosis, or misdiagnosis, it may be possible to seek legal redress by filing a wrongful death claim. In New York, these legal claims are limited to recovering pecuniary damages, including:
- Lost income for the earnings, benefits, and financial support the decedent would have provided had they lived.
- Loss of household services, including childcare, cleaning, and home maintenance that the decedent would have provided had they lived.
- Loss of parental guidance, training, and instruction for surviving minor children
- Reasonable medical costs from the final illness
- Funeral and burial costs
The estate may also file a survival action to seek compensation for the decedent’s pain and suffering, medical bills, and other losses they experienced between the time the cause of action arose and the date of their death.
How a Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Help
After you have received a life-changing diagnosis, you probably don’t want the added pressure of a complex legal claim on your shoulders. Fortunately, you don’t have to bear this burden alone. The experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Powers & Santola, LLP can help by:
- Investigating your situation to determine why the delayed diagnosis occurred
- Seeking to hold all negligent medical professionals involved in your care responsible
- Handling communications with your medical team and insurance companies
- Retrieving your medical records to determine when your healthcare provider should have made screening recommendations
- Calculating the full extent of your damages and seeking full and fair compensation for them
- Preparing a certificate of merit on your behalf, explaining the legal basis for your medical malpractice case
We want to help you through this difficult time. Call us today to learn how we can.
Contact Powers & Santola, LLP Today for a Free, No-Obligation Consultation
If you suffered harm due to your medical provider’s failure to order testing that caused a delay in your cancer treatment, you may have the legal right to file a medical malpractice claim. The experienced legal team at Powers & Santola, LLP can review your legal rights and options during a free consultation. Contact us today to arrange yours.
