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Patient Might Have A Case For Malpractice Due To Doctor’s Failure To Diagnose Colon Cancer
Physician: “There is nothing to worry about and you probably simply have hemorrhoids.” However, some time afterwards this person learns that the bleeding was actually due to a cancerous tumor in the colon. He or she now has advanced colon cancer that has reached the lymph nodes or even to a different organ, like the liver or the lungs. What makes this happen and what options does the patient and his or her family have when it does? Physicians typically advise that in case an individual notices rectal bleeding or blood in the stool, testing needs to be conducted to exclude the possibility of colon cancer. The test that is most commonly used is the colonoscopy, which requires the use of a flexible tube with a camera on the end to visualize the interior of the colon. If growths (polyps or tumors) are discovered, they can be biopsied and perhaps removed during the procedure. The samples (biopsies) are then examined for the existence of cancer. If there is no cancer, then colon cancer can frequently be ruled out as the cause of the blood. But, all too often, a person's physician will just assume the blood is from hemorrhoids without referring the patient to a specialistand without ordering any testing, for example , a colonoscopy, in order to make sure there is no cancer. Colon cancer progresses over time. As it advances it gets tougher to treat successfully. For instance, while it is contained inside the colon treatment normally involves surgery to take out the tumor and surrounding parts of the colon. Chemotherapy is often not used in the treatment of stage 1 and stage 2 except that it may be given to an individual who is young as a preventative measure. With surgery, the individual with stage 1 or stage 2 has a good likelihood of surviving the disease for at least 5 years after diagnosis. The relative 5-year survival rate is over ninety percent for stage I and seventy three percent for stage II. Once the cancer has spread outside the colon. At this stage treatment requires both surgery and chemotherapy (possibly with additional medications ). The relative 5-year survival rate for stage 3 is fifty three percent. If it progress to stage 4, the relative 5-year survival rate is lowered to roughly eight percent. Treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and other medications may or may not still be effective. Once treatment stops being effective, the disease becomes fatal. Roughly 48,000 individuals will die from colon cancer this year alone. It is thus essential that the cancer be diagnosed early. However, all too frequently doctors merely suppose that blood in the stool or rectal bleeding is from hemorrhoids, even after multiple reports by the patient. Instead of sending the individual to a a gastroenterologist or ordering tests, for instance a colonoscopy, to rule out the posibility of cancer, they inform the person that there is nothing to worry about. If the individual did have cancer and it is not discovered until later, it may advance to a stage 3 or a stage 4 . Now, it may be much farther along than when the patient originally reported rectal bleeding or blood in the stool. As a result, the patient now has a much reduced possibility of surviving. In such situations, the failure of a doctor to correctly rule out cancer at the time of the patient’s complaints might amount to a departure from the accepted standard of medical care leading the patient to pursue a medical malpractice claim. 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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