Cancer FAQs
Q: I told my doctor about unwanted weight loss and night sweats for several months before my cancer was diagnosed. He did not connect this in any way to my cancer. Should my illness have been diagnosed sooner? Is my doctor at fault?
A: Some symptoms such as weight loss and night sweats can be mistaken for other conditions, but whether your doctor was at fault depends on a variety of circumstances. Did your doctor conduct a thorough checkup and consider other factors in your medical history? Did your doctor order tests or recommend changes in diet, or other first line treatments to address your unwanted weight loss? Did your doctor dismiss your night sweats as something else without really taking your complaints into consideration? Depending on the answers to those questions, your doctor may have missed an earlier diagnosis of your cancer.
Q: I contacted my doctor to follow up on my mammogram, and for several weeks the lab “misplaced” my results. Finally, they called to tell me I needed to redo the test, and two months later I learned I had breast cancer. My oncologist says these months may have cost me valuable time to treat my cancer. Is this a case of medical malpractice?
A: If a laboratory or doctor’s office failed to keep track of your test results and caused your cancer to go undiagnosed, you may have grounds for a malpractice claim. Several other factors will determine whether you have a case; how much this delay impacts your long term health is probably most important. You should speak to a medical malpractice attorney right away for more detailed discussion of your legal options.
Q: When I asked my doctor if I needed a colonoscopy, he told me I was too young to have this procedure – even after I told him about my family’s history of colon cancer. I went to another doctor who ordered the test, and I learned that I have cancerous polyps. Can I file a claim against the first doctor?
A: You may have grounds for a malpractice claim if your doctor ignored your family’s history and your specific concerns when deciding upon treatment and testing. While age plays a role in whether a doctor orders certain tests, family medical history is also important and a consideration in standard of care. If your doctor failed to take this information into account and caused a delay in your cancer diagnosis, he may be liable for medical malpractice. You should speak to a medical malpractice attorney right away for a more detailed discussion of your legal options.
