Cancer Attorney Helps Patients With Metastatic Colon Cancer Whose Doctor Ignored Their Symptoms

Delayed diagnosis claims often come up within the context of cancer. Consider advanced colon cancer.  A common issue that a lawyer handling cancer malpractice cases is often consulted on deals with to physicians dismissing patient complaints of blood in the stool as being caused by hemorrhoids without ever doing any testing.  Among the other most often seen delayed diagnosis cases involve advanced breast cancer, advanced prostate cancer and advanced colon cancer.  Let’s, however, maintain focus on colon cancer.

The first thing to note is that most doctors acknowledge that when a patient presents with rectal bleeding or blood in the stool a colonoscopy needs to be completed so as to figure out the cause of the blood.  The colonoscopy is a procedure that helps determine whether the blood is being caused by colon cancer or something else such as hemorrhoids.  Even though blood in the stool is much more likely to result from something other than colon cancer not performing appropriate tests places the patient at risk of having cancer that will continue to grow and spread every day it is not diagnosed.

If appropriate tests (such as a colonoscopy) are performed as soon as the patient exhibits symptoms consistent with colon cancer it is possible that the cancer will be found while it is still in the early stage.  Early diagnosis frequently means that the cancer can be removed surgically (or maybe even wtih a colonoscopy) and the patient may not require chemotherapy.  Early detection also frequently means that there is a much lessened chance that the patient will die from the cancer.  Should the patient in fact have cancer then not letting the patient know that the blood may be due to cancer the physician effectively impedes the diagnosis.  The postponement can cause the progression of the cancer to an advanced stage.  At that point, there are fewer treatment options and a much lower likelihood of survival.

Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction where the physician was responsible for 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!.  The above is meant neither as medical advice nor legal advice.  Make sure you consult with a doctor concerning any health issues and before taking any medical advice.  Please consult an attorney about any possible legal claim.