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Claim Pursuedfor Death Of Woman Whose Physicians Did Not Screen Her According To The Screening Guidelines
In this matter a woman saw her family doctor from when she was 50 years old to when she was 55. In that period of time her medical history included obesity, a hernia as well as hypertension. At no time however did her doctor ever do screening for colon cancer. She began having various symptoms that included bloody stools, diarrhea and vomiting when she turned fifty five. At the emergency room the attending physician diagnosed her as having gastroenteritis. The woman followed up with her physician a few days later who made a note of the fact that she at this point had up to three bowel movements a day all of which contained a blood. This doctor recommended a wait-and-see strategy and felt that she would need a lower G.I. endoscopy if her condition did not go up. The physician's differential diagnosis was for colitis. The physician apparently never considered cancer as part of the differential diagnoses. A year later she again saw this doctor and reported having abdominal issues and as much as 60 pounds of unexplained weight loss. The doctor decided that her weight-loss was the consequence of a modification in her diet and even though she had a history of blood in her stools that physician again did not order or perform any tests to rule out colon cancer. A month afterward she once more ended up at the hospital with complaints of abdominal pain and ongoing diarrhea and by now there would be blood present every time she vomited. Her stool was now a dark brown color and testing revealed blood present in the stool. The doctor at the emergency room diagnosed her as having a gastrointestinal bleeding. The ER doctor had her get an x-ray which revealed a partial obstruction of the bowel. At this point she was admitted to the hospital. Blood tests then disclosed that she might have colon cancer. At first a gastroenterologist performed an upper G.I. endoscopy and got several biopsies. This gastroenterologist also failed to perform a colonoscopy. It was only late when a covering doctor at the hospital recognized that her history indicated the possibility of cancer and that more testing was required that a sigmoidoscopy was ultimately performed approximately two weeks subsequently. The sigmoidoscopy showed a large blockage and a follow-up CAT scan recorded a large tumor. When she underwent surgery it was found that her cancer had already spread to both her uterus and to her bladder. In addition the pathology report indicated cancer in thirteen lymph nodes. She had metastatic. She commenced a chemotherapy protocol and after developing an intolerance for the chemotherapy as well as bowel obstructions and even renal failure, she died less than a year later. She was merely fifty eight years old. She was married and had two children both of whom were adults. Her husband and children filed a lawsuit against the physicians for the delay in the diagnosis of the cancer. The law firm that handled this matter documented a settlement in the matter for just under one million dollars for the family. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting medical malpractice cases and wrongful death cases. You can learn more about cases involving colon cancer and other cancer matters including breast cancer by visiting the websites |
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