A diagnosis of cancer used to be equivalent to a death sentence. While it is still terrifying to hear, today a timely diagnosis can save your life. Many types of cancer respond well to treatment when they are caught in the early stages, but can be fatal when left untreated or if treatment is delayed. Delayed and misdiagnoses of cancer are forms of medical malpractice.
Delayed treatment that is not fatal can still mean significant damage to quality of life, involving more invasive, painful, and expensive treatments. More invasive and radical treatments can, in themselves, do significant damage to you health and shorten your life. Some types of cancer that respond well to treatment in the early stages include:
- Skin cancer
- Breast cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Prostate cancer
Failure to Respond to Symptoms and Warning Signs
When a patient is not at risk and does not show any warning signs or complain of any potential symptoms of cancer it can come as an honest shock to everyone involved if the cancer is detected in an advanced stage.
All too often, misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of cancer is due to a doctor’s failure to properly respond to a patient’s symptoms. Various types of cancer have red flag symptoms that every doctor should respond to with standard cancer screening procedures.
There are many reasons why a doctor may fail to respond. Some doctors are rushed or distracted and not listening, others do not take their patients seriously. Sadly, there are doctors who hear and recognize the symptoms, but do not order tests because they believe they patient cannot afford the test or the treatment.
If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of delayed or misdiagnosis of cancer, in the Atlanta Georgia area, please contact the experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Robbins Law, PC today.