Failure to Diagnose Colon Cancer Attorneys
Colon cancer is the common name for colorectal carcinoma. It involves the large intestine and ranks second to lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. Approximately 130,000 Americans are diagnosed with colon cancer, and 56,000 die from it.
Colon cancer starts in lesions in the large intestine’s inner wall when they undergo a malignant transformation. Once a cancer, it grows through the intestinal wall and spreads to adjacent lymph nodes. From there it propagates to other organs, especially the liver. At this point, it becomes essentially incurable.
But since it can take up to 15 years for the abnormal polyps in the large intestine to develop into cancer, many of these cases could be avoided. As with many other cancers, the key to survival is early detection. One reason for the low detection rate is that many people don’t get routine physicals, and those who do, rarely request a colonoscopy. Another reason is that at-risk patients are not screened for the cancer as often as they should, or physicians are not attributing colon cancer symptoms to the disease. When the latter happens, the responsible physician may be negligent.
Symptoms of colon cancer may include:
- Bleeding from the rectum
- Blood in the stool
- Changes in bowel movements
- Abdominal discomfort
- Chronic fatigue
- Constipation
- Unexplained weight loss
If you experience any of the symptoms above, you should notify your physician immediately.
But even if you do not experience any of these symptoms, you should regularly have tests and screenings done. The American Cancer Society (ACS) currently recommends that people over the age of 50 get annual digital rectal exams and fecal occult blood tests. Additionally, those in this age group should either get a flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years or a colonoscopy or double contrast barium enema every ten years.
If your doctor fails to follow these guidelines, or if he or she did not detect a cancerous polyp during a digital rectal exam, failed to order testing when you described a symptom of colon cancer, incorrectly interpreted the results of a biopsy, or did not react quickly with treatment after abnormal test results, you may be the victim of medical malpractice.
If you or a loved one contracts colon cancer and you suspect that it could have been detected or acted on sooner, you should seek competent legal representation. Because medical malpractice cases are difficult to prosecute, only a medical malpractice lawyer who specializes in “failure to diagnose” cases will be able to give you a realistic appraisal of the likelihood of collecting compensation for damages suffered in your case.
