Delayed Diagnosis of Cancer and Medical Negligence Claims
If a cancer diagnosis is not made in time, it could affect a patient's prognosis. If a delay in diagnosis occurs because of medical error, there will be grounds for a medical negligence claim. Please contact us at Glynns Solicitors to find out more.
Cancer
Cancer is a common condition that will affect all our lives in one way or another. One in three people will develop cancer during their lifetime, while others will know someone who has survived or died from the condition.
There are over 200 different types of cancer, with the most prevalent in the UK being breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and bowel cancer. It can arise in any part of the body, ranging from the eye to the anus.
What is cancer?
Cancer happens when the cells grow uncontrollably. Normally a cell will grow and reproduce in a controlled fashion. Typically a cell will reproduce a certain amount of times and will then die. It will also die if it becomes damaged in any way.
A cancerous cell differs in that it will not stop reproducing, nor will it self-destruct very easily. Consequently the cancerous cell will divide, creating an identical copy that will also be cancerous. These will continue to divide until a mass of cells lump together, all copies of the first cancerous cell. This mass of cancerous cells is called a tumour.
Cancer diagnosis
Cancer is best treated in the early stages of the condition. This is true of every type of cancer as the tumour will be smaller and less invasive. This will make it easier for medical practitioners to rid the patient of cancer. This will be achieved in different ways depending upon the patient and the type of cancer, but may involve surgery to remove the tumour, radiotherapy or chemotherapy.
The successful treatment of cancer is therefore reliant upon a timely diagnosis. This will depend upon a patient seeking help for symptoms, a GP referring a patient for further tests, and a specialist analysing the results and making an accurate diagnosis. Thus there are a number of people involved in the diagnosis of cancer, all of whom must act with urgency due to the time pressures at play.
Delayed diagnosis of cancer
Sadly a prompt diagnosis is not always obtained and a patient only discovers he/she has cancer in the advanced stages. By then it may be too late to treat, and any care provided may be considered palliative.
Sometimes cancer is not diagnosed until the later stages because a patient did not seek medical help in time – either because there were not any symptoms present, or because they did not believe their symptoms to be serious. Alternatively it may be that the tumour was extremely aggressive and became terminal within a matter of weeks.
Delayed diagnosis and medical error
But other times the delay is the fault of medical practitioners. As mentioned above, there are a number of clinicians involved in a diagnosis. Normally a patient will first seek help from their GP. The GP must then suspect the possibility of cancer and refer a patient to the relevant specialist. The specialist must then carry out further diagnostic tests, accurately analyse the results and confirm whether or not there is a tumour present.
In some circumstances the tumour will not initially be seen on the tests and they will need to be repeated, once it becomes clear the symptoms have not resolved. The GP will need to be aware of this and re-refer a patient for further tests.
At any point in this diagnosis process there may be a delay that is the fault of medical practitioners. Most commonly the problem will lie with the General Practitioner who fails to recognise the signs and symptoms of cancer, and therefore fails to refer a patient to a cancer specialist. On other occasions the problem will be that the test results are not properly assessed, meaning a patient is wrongly given the all-clear.
Consequences of a delayed diagnosis of cancer
A delayed diagnosis of cancer can be very troubling. Firstly, a patient will be subject to a prolonged period of pain and suffering while their condition remains undiagnosed.
Secondly, a patient may require more extensive that would otherwise had been required, had an early diagnosis been made. For example, if the cancer is diagnosed in the early stages it may be successfully treated with a single operation. But if a diagnosis is delayed, the treatment plan will be more extreme, potentially involving surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Thirdly, a patient's prognosis may be adversely affected. The longer treatment is withheld, the larger the tumour will grow, making it increasingly difficult to remove. If there is a delay there is also a risk that the cancer will spread to other parts of the body (called metastases) and/or to the lymph nodes. Ultimately this may mean that the cancer cannot be successfully treated, reducing a patient's life expectancy. The prognosis may have been more positive, had an earlier diagnosis been made.
Legal action for a delayed diagnosis of cancer
If a patient does suffer because doctors failed to diagnose cancer in a prompt manner, there may be a case of medical negligence.
Medical negligence claims arise when a patient has been subject to a substandard level of medical care, and this has caused physical/emotional pain and suffering. Part of the claim will also relate to the financial losses incurred as a result of the negligence, including the loss of past and future earnings.
A delayed diagnosis of cancer will undoubtedly cause significant physical, emotional and financial damage. If the delay occurred due to medical error, the patient or their family should contact a solicitor as soon as possible, as it may be possible to pursue legal action.
Contact us today
To talk to a solicitor about claiming compensation for a delayed cancer diagnosis, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us today. We specialise in clinical negligence law and will be able to advise you upon the options available. Please call us free on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
Make An Enquiry
Why Choose Us
- Specialist medical negligence solicitors
- Free initial enquiries
- No win, no fee available
Reviews
"I would like to say a big thank you to you for making this whole process easy and relatively painless. You kept me informed throughout and you were always polite and courteous in all forms of communication. I would not hesitate to recommend you to friends and family, so a really big thank you and I wish you all the best in the future."
Mr A.
Our Expertise
Helping Clients Across England & Wales
Free Medical Negligence Guide
'7 Questions You Must Ask Before Choosing A Medical Negligence Solicitor'