Why Ignoring Complaints Consistent With Colon Cancer May Lead To A Malpractice Claim

Here is the dialogue that all too often leads to a tragic result

. Patient: "Doctor, I am seeing blood in my stool." Doctor: "It is probably nothing. You in all likelihood merely have hemorrhoids." Unfortunately, some time later this patient learns that the bleeding was actually caused by a cancerous tumor in the colon. The individual now has advanced colon cancer that has reached the lymph nodes or even to a distant organ, such as the liver or the lungs. What legal choices does the patient have in these circumstances?

The first thing to note is that most doctors concur that anytime an adult reports rectal bleeding or blood in the stool a colonoscopy ought to be done in order to determine the reason for the blood. The colonoscopy helps establish if the blood is the result of colon cancer or something different such as hemorrhoids. However merely assuming that the blood is due to hemorrhoids risks not detecting a cancer.

Why is this such a critical error? To understand that let's quickly consider how cancer progresses. Colon cancer is estimated to kill roughly forty eight thousand men and women this year. Colon cancer becomes fatal when it grows and progresses outside of the colon reaching the bloodstream by way of the lymph nodes and establishing itself in additional organs like the liver and the lungs. Once the cancer reaches that point the person's treatment alternatives are restricted and the likelihood that the patient will survive the cancer are considerably diminished. Treatments, which may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and other drugs, may or may not eliminate the cancer.

If at some point treatment no longer works, the cancer becomes fatal. But it takes time for the cancer to reach that point. It normally starts off as a small group of cells. Over time these cells grow and make their way outside the colon where they then start spreading and growing more.

It is thus essential that the cancer be found early. However, all too often doctors merely suppose that blood in the stool or rectal bleeding is the result of hemorrhoids, even after multiple reports by the patient. Rather than sending the person to a specialist or ordering tests, for instance a colonoscopy, to rule out cancer, they tell the patient that there is nothing to worry about.

If the person did have cancer and it is not discovered until later, it may advance to a stage 3 or a stage 4 by the time of diagnosis. At this point, it may be much more advanced than it was at the time the patient first reported rectal bleeding or blood in the stool. As a result, the individual now has a much reduced likelihood of surviving. Under such circumstances, the failure on the part of a physician to correctly rule out cancer at the time of the patient's complaints might constitute a departure from the accepted standard of medical care leading the patient to pursue a medical malpractice claim.

by: Joseph Hernandez

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