Patients May Have A Claim For Medical Malpractice As A Result Of Doctor’s Delay In Diagnosing Colon Cancer

Delayed diagnosis claims often happen within the context of cancer. Take for example advanced colon cancer.  A frequently seen issue that an attorney handling cancer malpractice cases is often approached about related to doctors 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 scenarios involve advanced breast cancer, advanced prostate cancer and advanced colon cancer.  Let’s, however, for now just consider colon cancer.

Typically, physicians suggest that if a patient present with blood in the stool that a colonoscopy is called for to find out if the patient has colon cancer or the blood is caused by something else.  The colonoscopy is a procedure that helps determine whether the blood is being caused by colon cancer or something else such as hemorrhoids.  Although blood in the stool is probably due to 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 found.

If the patient with rectal bleeding undergoes a colonoscopy and the cancer is found before it has spread to the lymph nodes or migrate to other organs, the cancer can often be removed by taking it out during the colonoscopy if it is small enough or by surgically taking out the part of the colon that contains the tumor.  Should the patient in fact have cancer then not not informing the patient that the blood may be due to cancer the doctor effectively impedes the diagnosis.  The delay can cause the advancement of the cancer to an advanced stage.  At that point, there are fewer treatment options and a much lower likelihood of survival.

To determine whether you may have a medical malpractice claim against a physician or other health care provider please consult a medical negligence lawyer.  Obviously, the above is meant simply as commonly available information about some types of possible medical malpractice claims and not as legal or medical advice.  You need to consult with a doctor regarding any medical problems or medical advice.