Friday, July 13, 2007

Failure to Diagnose or Delay in Diagnosis of Cancer (Causing Exacerbation of Disease or Death)

Some of the types of cancer that are particularly responsive to early treatment include breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, testicular cancer, colon cancer, and lung cancer.

Damages caused by failure to promptly diagnose cancerUnfortunately, not every cancer patient is diagnosed in time for these early stage treatments. Many patients suffer from serious damages and even death as a result of failure to diagnose cancer, or delays in that diagnosis. Left untreated, even the most treatable forms of cancer are often ultimately deadly.

Patients whose cancers are not diagnosed in their early stages are often subjected to extended courses of painful, disfiguring, and debilitating treatments, including chemotherapy, strong medications, and major surgery.

For example, in many cases, early stage breast cancer can be effectively eliminated with only minor surgery to excise the cancerous tissue. If that breast cancer is not diagnosed until later stages, however, treatment can consist of mastectomy (removal of the breast), extensive chemotherapy, and other treatments, sometimes with little chance of survival.

Failure to diagnose cancer or delayed diagnosis of cancer may be the result of any of a number of issues, including failure to order appropriate tests, negligence in handling or reading test samples, misdiagnosis of symptoms, or other types of medical negligence.

How to get helpIf you or someone you love suffered damages as a result of a failure or delay in cancer diagnosis, you may be able to recover some compensation for the physical, emotional, and financial damages you've suffered.

It is important that you act quickly, however, to preserve your right to take action against those who harmed you, and to preserve the evidence you need to prove your case in a court of law.

If you or a family member has suffered injury or death as a result of a late cancer diagnosis, contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. He or she can help you gather the information you need and determine whether you have a cause of action to sue for damages.

Click here for more information about failure to diagnose cancer and other medical malpractice cases

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tara_Pingle

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