Consider the following example of a conversation that all too frequently takes place. Patient: "Doctor, I notice blood in my stool." Doctor: "Don't worry about it, you most likely just have hemorrhoids." Unfortunately, some time afterward this person discovers that the bleeding was really due to a cancerous tumor in the colon. The person now has advanced colon cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes or even to a distant organ, such as the liver or the lungs. What legal choices does the patient have under these circumstances?
The first thing to note is that most doctors concur that anytime a patient reports rectal bleeding or blood in the stool a colonoscopy ought to be performed in order to learn the source of the blood. The colonoscopy helps figure out whether the blood is from colon cancer or something different such as hemorrhoids. However only assuming that the blood is due to hemorrhoids risks not detecting a cancer.
Colon cancer is a disease that progresses over time. As it advances it becomes tougher to treat successfully. For instance, while it is contained inside the colon treatment generally involves surgery to take out the tumor and adjacent areas of the colon. Chemotherapy is usually not used in the treatment of stage 1 and stage 2 unless it may be given to an individual who is young as a preventative measure. With surgery, someone with stage 1 or stage 2 has an excellent likelihood of still being alive at least five years after diagnosis. The relative 5-year survival rate is more than ninety percent for stage I and seventy three percent for stage II.
Once the cancer reaches stage 3, it has spread outside the colon. At this stage treatment requires both surgery and chemotherapy (possibly with additional medications as well). The relative 5-year survival rate for stage 3 is 53%. If it progress to stage 4, the relative 5-year survival rate is reduced to around eight percent. Treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and other medications may or may not still be effective. When treatment stops being effective, the disease becomes fatal. Roughly forty eight thousand men and women will die from colon cancer this year alone.
It is therefore critical that the cancer be detected before it has spread. However, all too often doctors merely assume that blood in the stool or rectal bleeding is the result of hemorrhoids, even after a number of reports by the patient. Instead of referring the patient to a specialist or ordering tests, for instance a colonoscopy, to rule out the possibility of cancer, they convey to the patient that there is nothing to fear.
If the person did have cancer and it is not discovered until later, it may progress to a stage 3 or a stage 4 . At this point, it might be much more advanced than it was at the time the patient first complained of rectal bleeding or blood in the stool. As a result, the patient now has a much reduced possibility of surviving. In such situations, the failure of a doctor to correctly rule out cancer at the time of the patient's initial reports may amount to a departure from the accepted standard of medical care leading the patient to pursue a medical malpractice case.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting Medical Malpractice cases. You can learn more about stage 3 colon cancer and stage 4 colon cancer visit the website
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