Failure to Diagnose Cancer Can Result in Dire Consequences

Cancer is a frightening word to hear when it refers to you or a loved one and so it is imperative that individuals get the diagnoses they need as soon as possible for treatment to begin. Many types of cancer can be treated if caught early enough, but any delay in a diagnosis can decrease a patient’s chance of survival and leave the individual with very few treatment options. Sometimes, mistakes in diagnoses lead to death when the cancer was completely treatable. Individuals whose loved ones have died or patients who have had negative outcomes as a result of a delayed or missed diagnosis may have a claim.

Mistakes in Diagnosis

The reason mistakes happen in Cancer diagnoses include:

• Failure to see early warning signs
• Disregarded symptoms reported by patient
• Undocumented risk factors
• Lack of documentation in medical records
• Avoidance of necessary tests due to concerns about the patient’s ability to pay
• Improper blood and tissue sampling
• Negligence in reading tests
• Failure to follow up with patient

Consequences of Failure to Diagnose Cancer

When Cancer continues to go misdiagnosed, it will spread, grow, and become more serious. As Cancer cells multiply, treatment becomes more difficult resulting in the following negative consequences:

• Invasive treatment or surgery
• Extensive chemotherapy
• More expensive treatment
• Acute nausea and pain
• Long-term disability
• Loss of income
• Death

Failure to Diagnose Cancer and Delayed Diagnoses Can Be Fatal

Cancer by its nature replicates and spreads as fast as possible, thus, effective early diagnosis and treatment is vital. When patients heed warning signs and receive immediate medical care, they have the highest chance of success. With the passage of time, cancer-fighting treatments become more complicated and dangerous. After a certain point of progression there is nothing more that can be done for a patient, so missing a diagnosis or ignoring cancer symptoms can be devastating:

Potential Results of Delayed Diagnoses:

• Due to delay, high risk surgery becomes the only option left
• Because of fast-spreading Cancer cells, only part of a malignant tumor can be surgically excised
• As a result of prolonged misdiagnosis, treatment may only slow the progression of terminal cancer
• After waiting too long, chemo therapy must to be aggressive; long in duration and high in intensity