Despite all of the colonoscopies, blood tests, mammograms, and MRI's that are available today, cancers are still often overlooked or misdiagnosed. The chances for treatment early during the disease are then lost. When a misdiagnosis or a delay in diagnosis takes place, a patient's medical care or prognosis is often drastically affected, which could lead to a case of actionable medical malpractice. Granted, not every instance of delayed diagnosis results in a medical malpractice lawsuit. However, when there are grounds for filing a valid medical malpractice claim, our medical malpractice attorneys at Rosenbaum & Associates can help you.

Misdiagnosing Colon Cancer

The second, most prevalent type of cancer among males are rectal and colon cancers. Among women, Rectal and colon cancers come third after lung cancer and breast cancer.

The majority of colon and rectal (colorectal) cancers start off as polyps (small, noncancerous growths) and gradually grow into cancer over a number of years. It is important to remove these growths early (an important means of cancer prevention) so that they don't become malignant.

Failure To Order The Correct Tests

A colonoscopy is a test that is often used to detect colon cancer. A flexible, elongated tube with a small camera lens at its end is placed inside the rectum until it passes through the colon to the cecum, which is located at the very end. If there are any abnormalities that are visible through the lens, a portion of the bowel lining is removed so it can be examined more closely for cancerous or pre-cancerous cells.

Symptoms for colon cancer include:

• Unexplained anemia.
• Change in bowel habits.
• Rectal bleeding.
• Abdominal discomfort.

Although these symptoms are not exclusive to cancer, it is important that your doctor think about doing a colonoscopy if these signs are present. Early cancer detection often leads to prevention or recovery. The longer it takes to diagnose cancer, the worse the prognosis and the greater the chances of mastethis.

Medical malpractice may have occurred if your physician failed to conduct a proper and complete medical examination or did not tell you that any symptoms they observed could be an indicator of cancer. An example of this is if you were treated for hemorrhoids because of rectal bleeding, but the bleeding continued even after your treatment and your physician did not suggest that you undergo a colonoscopy. If you are never told by your doctor that the symptom you are experiencing could be a sign of cancer, you may think that you are healthy when you may in reality be very ill—this, too, may be a case for filing a medical malpractice claim.

To find out more about the malpractice error of misdiagnosing cancer, contact Rosenbaum & Associates at 1-800-7-LEGAL-7. You may also obtain a Complimentary Case Evaluation online. We represent clients and their families throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey that have been the victims of a medical malpractice error and would like to recover damages for their injuries.

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Misdiagnosing Breast Cancer

Breast cancer, if discovered and treated early, can have a very good prognosis. It is one of the most common types of cancer, and there are many instances when breast cancer is not properly diagnosed.

Common medical errors by staff that frequently lead to a failure to properly diagnose breast cancer include:

• Not reading the mammogram correctly.
• Not ordering proper treatment—such as a follow-up appointment or a biopsy—when a patient reports feeling a mass or noticing another symptom.

Delaying the treatment of breast cancer can significantly impact the chances of recovery. Even a few months delay, especially at the later stages of cancer, can be significant. The failure to diagnose any kind of cancer increases the chances of harming a patient. The more advanced the stage that a cancer reaches, the lower the chances for a cure. Also, a person with a later stage of cancer increases his or her chances of recurrence or death.

Several Common Symptoms of Breast Cancer

• Nipple discharge
• A suspicious mass
• A red breast
• A painful breast

If your radiologist or physician failed to correctly diagnose your breast cancer, you can file a medical malpractice claim even if their failure to diagnose has so far not affected your chances for recovery.

Our medical malpractice attorneys at Rosenbaum & Associates can assess your case to determine whether the improper diagnosis increased your chances of harm by affecting your prognosis. You may also be able to file a medical malpractice claim if delay in proper diagnosis led to certain treatments, such as a mastectomy or chemotherapy, that you would not have had to undergo otherwise.

For more information on failure to diagnose breast cancer, call 1-800-7-LEGAL-7 or get your Free Case Evaluation online. Rosenbaum & Associates is proud to represent medical malpractice clients throughout the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

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Misdiagnosing Cervical Cancer

The most effective way to test for cervical cancer is with a Pap smear. This type of test can identify preinvasive lesions located in the cervix. This is why The American Cancer Society suggests that after a patient takes two Pap smears that testing negative over a two-year period, another Pap smear should be taken no later than three years after the second test. A large number of gynecologists, however, suggest that patients take a Pap smear test every year—especially because the test's ability to detect cervical cancer early can lead to early treatment of the disease.

Lab workers are the ones who evaluate Pap smear results, so when evaluating a medical malpractice claim, it is important to obtain and examine these results to see if the evaluator read them correctly.

Pap Smear Test

A Pap smear is a test used to determine whether you have unhealthy (abnormal cells), an infection, or cervical cancer. The test takes a sample of surface cells in the uterine cervix (the part of the uterus that leads to the vagina) and occasionally from the vagina wall to examine them through a microscope in a lab—a process known as a cytological examination. The medical term "cytology" refers to the study of cells and their cell components, including their function, growth, structure, behavior, and reproduction.

Using a pap smear for early cancer detection gives the patient an opportunity to be treated early.

Pap Smear Testing Errors

In many cases, the detection of precancerous cells and the diagnosis of cervical cancer can sometimes be delayed because of improper care or misdiagnosis by doctors, lab workers, and other members of a medical staff. For example, a physician may have failed to properly administer the Pap test or a lab worker might not have examined the cells correctly and therefore did not obtain the correct test results.

When cancer is not diagnosed correctly, further symptoms may occur, such as irregular vaginal discharge or bleeding. Cancer may then be diagnosed at this time, but the disease may have already spread to other parts of the body. The patient may then require more invasive treatment while having a lower chance of survival.

At the medical malpractice law firm of Rosenbaum & Associates, we work with top medical experts who can review your test results. In many cases, precancerous and cancerous cells that were not identified by a lab worker can usually be found on test slides that were taken earlier.

If you live in Pennsylvania or New Jersey and you would like more information about failure to diagnose cervical cancer and Pap smear testing errors, call Rosenbaum & Associates at 1-800-7-Legal-7 to speak with one of our medical malpractice attorneys. You can also request a Free Case Evaluation online.