How A Malpractice Case Might Result From The Delayed Diagnosis Of Colon Cancer

The very mention of the term “colon cancer” tends to bring up fear in nearly all of us. It can therefore feel quite reassuring to hear your doctor say that you only have hemorrhoids. That there is no need to worry about the blood in your stool. Yet this reassurance should not be given until the doctor has eliminated the chance of colon cancer (and other potentially serious gastrointestinal problems). Otherwise, you may not learn that you have colon cancer before it is too late. Should a physician conclude without testing considers that complaints of blood in the stool or rectal bleeding by a patient are due to hemorrhoids and it eventually turns out to be colon cancer, that doctor may have committed medical malpractice and the patient might be able to pursue a lawsuit against that physician.

In excess of 10 million people have hemorrhoids and another 1,000,000 new cases of hemorrhoids will likely occur this year as opposed to a little more than the 100 thousand new cases of colon cancer that will be identified this year. In addition, colon cancers do not always. When they do, the bleeding may be intermittent. Also subject to where the cancer is in the colon, the blood may not even be seen in the stool. Perhaps it is in part as a result of the difference in the quantity of cases being diagnosed that a number of physicians merely assume that blood in the stool or rectal bleeding is because of hemorrhoids. This is gambling, pure and simple. A physician who reaches this conclusion will be correct greater than ninety percent of the time. It appears reasonable, doesn’t it? The problem, however, is that if the doctor is incorrect in this diagnosis, the patient may not learn he or she has colon cancer before it has reached a late stage, perhaps even to the point where it is no longer treatable.

For this reason physicians commonly recommend that a colonoscopy should be ordered right away if a patient has blood in the stool or rectal bleeding. A colonoscopy is a method that uses a flexible scope with a camera on the end is used to examine the inside of the colon. In the event that something is found in the course of the procedure, it might be possible to take it out then and there should it not be very large. In any case, it will be biopsied to check for cancer. Providing no cancer is discovered from the colonoscopy can colon cancer be eliminated as a cause of the blood.

By diagnosing complaints of blood in the stool or rectal bleeding as resulting from hemorrhoids while not conducting the correct tests to eliminate the possibility of colon cancer, a physician places the patient at risk of not finding out he or she has colon cancer until it progresses to an advanced, possibly no longer treatable, stage. This might constitute a departure from the accepted standard of medical care and might bring about a medical malpractice claim.

If you or a a member of your family were assured by a physician that blood in the stool or rectal bleeding were caused by nothing more than hemorrhoids, and were subsequently diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer, you ought to speak to an attorney immediately. This article is for basic educational usage only and does not constitute legal (or medical) advice. If you have any medical concerns you should consult with a doctor. You should not act, or refrain from acting, based upon any information contained herein but should instead seek professional legal counsel. A competent attorney who is experienced in medical malpractice may be able to help you determine should you have a claim for a delay in the diagnosis of the colon cancer. Immediately contact an attorney are there is a time limit in cases like these.

By: J. Hernandez

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting complex injury cases, including Medical Malpractice cases. You can learn more about colon advanced cancer and other cancer cases including breast cancer by visitng the websites