Personal Injury Lawyer
Finding out that you have cancer is scary enough in itself. Learning that your cancer is in an advanced stage because of a misdiagnosis is even more heart wrenching. Once cancer is in an advanced stage, it becomes very difficult to treat. Cancer patients who are initially misdiagnosed often suffer permanent injury or death.
Here is some further information about cancer misdiagnosis.
How Is Cancer Misdiagnosed?
Whether you bring up certain symptoms to your doctor or have screening tests that indicate the possibility of cancer, it’s up to your doctor to look into it further. Unfortunately, cancer can be overlooked by doctors in many ways. For example, the doctor could fail to perform a thorough physical examination or not recognize the early warning signs of cancer.
Cancer is also commonly misdiagnosed when a doctor doesn’t recommend certain cancer screenings. For instance, it’s recommended for men 45 and over to get screened for colon cancer and prostate cancer.
What Can Happen If Your Cancer Is Misdiagnosed?
Modern advances in medicine has made it possible to successfully treat many types of cancers. However, it’s still vital to find cancer as early as possible. Otherwise, cancer cells will continue to multiply and spread to other parts of the body. To have any chance of survival at that point, more aggressive treatments are often necessary. However, this can increase the risk of severe side effects and complications. For example, if the cancer has grown, you may have to remove certain limbs or organs.
The more aggressive treatments can also lead to severe pain and significantly increase your recovery time. You will also likely have to take more time off work, which means lost wages. With less income, you may have trouble paying for your cancer treatments, mortgage, food and other bills.
What Should You Do After a Cancer Misdiagnosis?
If you have received a cancer misdiagnosis, you have every reason to feel angry and frustrated. While nothing can make up for the injustice that has been done, getting compensation from a medical malpractice lawsuit can lessen some of the financial burden. You may be entitled to compensation, including current and future medical bills, long-term disability, current and future lost wages and pain and suffering.
An experienced medical malpractice attorney can assess your case in detail and advise you the best way to move forward. He or she can help you gather evidence, identify expert witness and protect your legal rights. With a confident lawyer on your side, you may feel a little less stress.
