How a delayed cancer diagnosis may be medical negligence

Statistics show that one in three people in the UK will get cancer during their life, making it one of the most prolific diseases of our time. Doctors have to be highly aware of the possibility of cancer when making diagnoses and need to make correct decisions every time.

If they were to fail to make a correct cancer diagnosis and treatment was delayed, this usually increases the patient's chance of dying from the disease. On the other hand, if they make a diagnosis of cancer when there is none, this can cause the person a lot of unnecessary emotional trauma and shock and may even lead to them receiving the incorrect treatment. Either of these situations may be viewed as medical negligence.

The importance of an early diagnosis
With many types of cancer, an early diagnosis is crucial. Lung cancer, ovarian cancer and stomach cancer are three kinds that have a much lower mortality rate following a prompt diagnosis. Those diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the earliest stage have a 92.5% five-year survival chance but this is reduced to 11.6% for those with the most advanced form.

The reason why it is so important for doctors to give an accurate, early diagnosis is that the cancer can become more advanced if it is not treated. The term "more advanced" refers to the tumour becoming larger and the cancer cells possibly spreading to other parts of the body. Generally speaking, the further advanced a cancer is judged to be, the lower the chance of a successful outcome.

A doctor who misses an early cancer diagnosis when presented with a person exhibiting typical signs of cancer may be considered to have committed medical negligence.

How can a cancer diagnosis be missed?
Unfortunately, some people are not diagnosed as early as they could be and this can be down to a number of factors. They may have seen the doctor about a symptom that is related to the cancer but is so common that the doctor dismisses it and fails to take the appropriate tests.

This scenario of medical negligence is often seen in relation to smokers with lung cancer. They may go to their doctor complaining of a bad cough but are often told that it is just due to smoking and further tests are not undertaken, despite the fact that a cough is one of the signs of lung cancer.

The reason that the lung cancer mortality rate is so high is believed to be related to the late diagnosis of many patients. However, this late diagnosis of lung cancer is not all down to medical negligence and is partially related to people's reluctance to go to the doctor with relatively minor symptoms, such as a cough.

Doctors may also miss a cancer diagnosis if the cancer involved is a rare type. For example, liver cancer accounts for less than one in a hundred diagnoses of cancer and also shares symptoms with many less serious illnesses. A diagnosis of liver cancer may well be delayed whilst other illnesses are considered to be the cause of symptoms such as abdominal pain and weight loss.

Other forms of medical negligence relating to a delayed diagnosis of cancer include lost or misinterpreted test results, a lack of monitoring for those who are at high risk of developing cancer and a failure to conduct a proper patient examination.

Getting compensation for medical negligence
If you or a close family member has experienced a delayed diagnosis of cancer, they may wish to claim medical negligence compensation against the doctor, specialist or other medical professional who failed to detect the disease.

We understand that the prospect of making a compensation claim may seem daunting following such a traumatic experience. However, we are dedicated to making the process as easy as possible for you because we know the difference compensation can make to our customers' lives. Read more about our medical negligence claim process.

Although many personal injury solicitors will use complicated legal jargon when discussing a medical negligence claim, we assure you this is not the case when you come to YouClaim. All of our legal staff are very approachable and use plain English instead of confusing legal phrases, which allows you to understand what is happening and feel in control of your claim at all times.

Our personal injury solicitors specialise in medical negligence cases and have a fantastic success record. They are dedicated to getting the best possible results for their customers and have many years of experience to help them achieve these. Read more about our panel of medical negligence solicitors.

If you are considering pursuing a medical negligence claim and would like free legal advice about what to do, chat to us online via e-chat or send us a call back request and we will get back to you at the time of day that’s best for you. To start the claim process for medical negligence compensation today either send us an online claim assessment form or telephone us on 0800 10 757 95 and we will be glad to help.