When A Diagnosis Of Colon Cancer Metastasis Might Result in A Medical Malpractice Claim
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-11-20 17:35:21 | Word Count: 763
The second largest number of cancer deaths is from colon cancer.. Each year, around forty eight thousand people will die from colon cancer. A large number of these deaths would be prevented with early diagnosis and treatment through standard colon cancer screening before symtoms occur.
If the cancer is located while it is still a small polyp while undergoing a routine screening procedure, like a colonoscopy, the polyp can ordinarily be removed during the colonoscopy without the need for the surgical removal of any segment of the colon. Once the polyp grows to the point where it turns cancerous and gets to Stage I or Stage II, the tumor and a portion of the colon on each side of the tumore is surgical removed. The relative 5-year survival rate is over ninety percent for Stage I and seventy three percent for Stage 2.
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If the disease advancesto a Stage III, surgery is not enough and the patient also needs to undergo chemotherapy. The relative 5-year survival rate falls to 53%, depending on such variables as how many lymph nodes that have cancer.
Once the colon cancer reaches Stage 4, treatment may necessitate the use of chemotherapy and perhaps different drugs as well as surgery on various organs. Should the dimensions and number of tumors in different organs (such as the liver and lungs) are sufficiently few, surgery to remove the cancer from those other organs might be the first treatment, then chemotherapy. In some cases the dimensions or number of tumors in the different organs removes the possibility of surgery as part of the treatment.
If chemotherapy and other drugs can reduce the quantity and size of these tumors, surgery might then turn out to be an option as the second form of treatment. Otherwise, chemotherapy and various drugs (perhaps through clinical trials) might temporarily stop or limit the further progression of the cancer. With metastasis the individual's possibility of outliving the cancer for greater than 5 years after diagnosis falls to around eight percent.
The statistics are clear. The time frame in which the colon cancer is diagnosed and treated results in a dramatic difference. If diagnosed and treated early, the individual has an excellent chance of outliving the disease. When detection and treatment is delayed, the chances start turning from the person so that once the colon cancer reaches the lymph nodes, the probability is almost even. Further the probability drops precipitously once the colon cancer gets to Stage 4.
But, too frequently physicians do not suggest standard cancer screening to their patients. By the time the cancer is finally detected - often due to the fact that the tumor has become so large that it is resulting in blockage, since the patient is losing blood internally and that condition is worsening, or since the patient starts to notice other indications - the colon cancer is a Stage 3 or even a Stage 4. The individual now confronts a very different outlook than he or she would have if the cancer had been discovered early through standard screening.
In medical malpractice terms, the patient has suffered a "loss of chance" of a better recovery. In other words, because the doctor did not advisev that the person have a routine screening test, the cancer is now much more advanced and the patient has a much lower likelihood of outliving the cancer. The failure of a physician to recommend the patient undergo screening options for colon cancer may constitute medical malpractice.
You should contact an attorney at once should you feel there was a delayed diagnosis of colon cancer because a doctor's not suggesting routine colon cancer screening. This article is for general educational purposes only and should not be considered legal (or medical) advice. For any health issues your should consult with a physician. If you believe you may have a medical malpractice case consult with a lawyer without delay. A competent attorney with experience in handling cancer claims can help you determine whether you have a claim for a delayed diagnosis colon cancer due to a failure on the part of a doctor to recommend colon cancer screening. There is a time limit in cases like these so do not wait to call an attorney.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting medical malpractice cases. To learn about colon cancer and other cancer cases including breast cancer visit the website
