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Family Of Male Who Died Of Stage Four Colon Cancer Compensated By Doctors For Delayed Diagnosis
In this case a forty eight year old married male with children started treating with a family doctor. When the patient turned fifty eight, the doctor at last did a sigmoidoscoy. The doctor noted that the sigmoidoscopy uncovered that the man had a ridge and that it was bleeding. Due to of this finding, the physician referred the man to a second doctor who in turn also did a sigmoidoscopy. This doctor also detected the ridge and biopsied it. Seven months later this second physician performed a full colonoscopy which found a polyploid ring measuring roughly 2 cm. A portion of this polyp was taken out and cauterized. Several samples of the polyp were taken. A biopsy of the samples found atypical cells and determined that it was not clear whether the full polyp had been removed. The subsequent year this second doctor carried out a barium enema. The physician listed the results as normal aside from minor diverticulosis. The doctor recommended that the man return for a follow-up colonoscopy in 3 years. The physician failed to make any other recommendations. Two years later the patient sought a different physician and asked for another sigmoidoscopy. This third doctor documented inflammation and bleeding. But, this physician did not biopsy the region or perform any additional evaluation or treatment of the inflamed spot. Instead, this doctor suggested that the patient get another sigmoidoscopy in a few years. The following year, the patient again saw the third physician. This time the patient complained of rectal bleeding. The physician performed a rectal examination accompanied by an anoscopy however he failed to do any further evaluation even after the patient again complained of rectal bleeding some months later that year. After still one more year, the man complained of several weeks of constipation and abdominal pain. The physician recommended a dietary supplement and stool softener to treat the symptoms yet did no more evaluations to figure out the reason for these changes. Just a short while afterwards the patient had extreme abdominal pain and took himself to the ER where it was determined that he had blockage. Biopsies of the rectum area indicated the likely presence of cancer. The man had another sigmoidoscopy 1 month later which encountered cancer. Due to the size and location of the cancer the patient underwent treatment with chemotherapy and radiation therapy before getting surgery. During surgery his rectum was taken out and a number of tumors were found in his liver. Eventually, the liver tumors increased in size and there was additional metastasis to his lungs. The patient in the end passed away from the cancer. The law firm that handled the resulting case documented that a settlement was reached with defendant doctors for the amount of $825,000. This matter illustrates the value of close monitoring of patients with a history of symptoms and the importance of properly identifying the reason for those symptoms. Since cancer can spread and in time become incurable whe its diagnosis is held up, treatment and a correct and early diagnosis is crucial. Anything else can result in a tragic result. 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 metastatic breast cancer by visiting the websites |
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