While hundreds of thousands of Americans die every year from cancer, our ability to detect and treat various types of cancer has drastically improved in the last 20 years. In some cases, what was once a death sentence is now treatable by taking a pill every day. Surgery is another option for cancer treatment if it is detected early enough. Radiation and chemotherapy have high success rates for patients with cancer that has metastasized. The key in treating cancer is early diagnosis, yet countless doctors miss the early signs and symptoms that they should be able to detect, resulting in delayed treatment and unnecessary suffering for the patient. If this happens to you or a loved one, the Tampa failure to diagnose cancer lawyer at Freidin Brown, P.A. are here to help.
How Do Cancer Diagnosis Mistakes Occur?
There are few other illnesses that spread quite as rapidly and aggressively as cancer. Whether a patient has a slower growing cancer, such as a carcinoid tumor, or a very aggressively metastasizing form of cancer, such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia or inflammatory breast cancer, their outcome greatly depends on the following three factors:
- Accurate diagnosis
- Prompt diagnosis
- Proper treatment
The most common medical mistake when it comes to treating cancer is failure to diagnose. This happens due to the doctor’s failure to communicate with the patient, failure to order diagnostic tests, failure to perform cancer screening methods, lack of general knowledge, failure to address a patient’s symptoms, and failure to understand what a patient’s symptoms mean.
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The Importance of Early Cancer Diagnosis
The origin of a patient’s cancer is called the primary cancer site. Cancerous cells from this primary site can spread to other parts of the body, via the bloodstream or the lymphatic system, by breaking off and growing into tumors, leading to secondary cancers or metastases. By catching cancer early, a patient’s medical team is able to stop the primary cancer site from growing and isolate the cancer before it has time to enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system. A patient’s outcome is likely to be significantly better before cancer has time to metastasize and spread to other organs.
The longer cancer care is delayed, the lower the patient’s chances are of surviving and the greater their cost of care becomes. Delayed diagnosis and treatment does not always lead to a patient’s death; diagnostic mistakes can simply prolong a patient’s suffering and lead to unnecessary complications.
Common Misdiagnosed Types of Cancer
- Colon cancer
- Breast cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Lung cancer
- Lymphoma
- Skin cancer
Call a Tampa Failure to Diagnose Cancer Lawyer Today
Damages in cancer medical malpractice claim include medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of joy of life, emotional distress, lost earnings, and more. Freidin Brown, P.A. has assisted countless clients file medical malpractice claims, as well as wrongful death lawsuits seeking justice for loved ones. Help is just a phone call away. Call our Tampa cancer malpractice lawyer today to schedule a free consultation.