Cancer Spreads After Tumour is Perforated
If a tumour is perforated, it is possible for the cancerous cells to pour out and spread to other parts of the body. This will make the patient's illness much harder to treat, and could shorten their life expectancy.
If the tumour is perforated due to substandard medical care and metastatic disease develops as a result, there could be a case of medical negligence. This would entitle the patient, or their family, to pursue a claim against those at fault.
For more information on making a cancer claim, please contact us at Glynns Solicitors. We are a niche medical negligence law firm, and act for clients across England and Wales.
Perforating a tumour
A perforated tumour means that the cancerous mass of cells has been aggravated by some external force, causing some of the cells to split off.
This can happen naturally with cancerous tumours, which is how the cancer spreads. Tumours that have broken off and developed in other parts of the body are called metastases.
But there are also times when medical procedures or treatments will perforate the tumour, breaking up the cells and allowing them to separate from the main tumour (known as the primary tumour).
Spread of cancerous cells
One example is a patient with oesophageal cancer undergoing an endoscopy, where a thin tube with a camera attached to the end is inserted into the mouth and down the throat. If this is not performed properly, there is a risk that the clinician will nudge the tumour with the endoscope.
When a tumour is perforated by something such as an endoscope, the cancerous cells can spread locally to the nearby tissue and to more distant locations, with metastases developing in other organs or body parts. There can also be lymphatic involvement where the cancer spreads to the lymph nodes.
Is this an acceptable standard of care?
When a tumour is perforated by a medical procedure or treatment, the question must asked: was the patient given an acceptable standard of care? Because if the care was found to be substandard and this caused the tumour to spread, there will be a case of medical negligence.
To prove a medical negligence claim, you have to establish two things. The first is that the patient was subject to a substandard level of care. All medical practitioners owe their patients a duty of care. This means they must provide a standard of care that would be expected from a reasonably competent clinician working in the same area of medicine.
If the standard of treatment is below what is expected, there will have been a breach of duty. For instance, if an endoscopy was not performed with the correct skill and expertise. If this can be established, the next thing to prove is causation, whereby the breach of duty caused injuries that would otherwise have been avoided.
Has poor care caused your tumour to spread?
When establishing causation, it must be considered what difference the breach of duty made to the outcome. If the patient went on to make a full recovery, despite the tumour being perforated, it may not be possible to prove causation as the substandard care did not cause the patient any harm.
But what if the patient would have made a full recovery, but because of the perforation went on to develop metastases? In such cases there will be a direct link between the breach of duty and the patient's condition. It will be necessary to prove that the patient had no sign of metastatic disease before the perforation occurred. This will be visible on scans.
If there was no visible sign that the patient had metastases, it can be argued that the perforation caused the spread of the cancer. This can have a number of knock-on effects. For example, it may be that before the perforation the patient was expected to make a full recovery after cancer treatment and to have a normal life expectancy. But because of the outpouring of cancer cells, the patient instead developed metastases, needed more invasive treatment and ultimately had a shortened life expectancy.
Start a cancer claim
If you or your loved one was harmed by a substandard level of medical care, you need to speak to a solicitor who works in medical negligence. If you are advised that there are grounds for a medical negligence claim, you will be entitled to pursue a claim against those at fault.
Although making a cancer claim cannot undo the suffering you have endured or bring back your loved one, it can help to improve care for future patients. The hospital (or medical service/clinician) will learn from the mistakes that were made and can implement measures to prevent similar errors being made.
Another reason to make a claim is to achieve a sense of justice. It can be very frustrating when you have been injured by a big organisation by the NHS and no one admits fault or issues an apology. This can be particularly upsetting in cancer cases where substandard care can make a patient very ill and even lead to their death. Making a claim can help you to find out what went wrong, why it went wrong, and who is to blame.
The final reason to make a claim is to obtain much-needed financial support. A successful claim will see you being awarded compensation for pain and suffering, as well as any financial losses. This will be essential if your ability to work has been adversely affected, or if you were financially dependent upon your loved one who passed away.
Contact us today
To start a claim for substandard cancer care, please get in touch with us at Glynns Solicitors. We are a friendly team of medical negligence lawyers based in between Bristol and Bath. We act for victims of medical error across England and Wales.
We offer everyone a free initial enquiry that gives you the chance to speak to a legal expert. If we believe there is a case of negligence, we can begin the claims process on your behalf.
Call us free on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
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