Something that Affects Everyone

Talk to anyone you know and ask if they know someone who has been affected by cancer. Almost inevitably, the answer is yes.

Cancer affects roughly one in two people, a staggering rate.

With modern medicine allowing people to live much longer and healthier, cancer becomes a particularly big risk in late life. While it’s an unfortunate and unpleasant disease, cancer treatment and care has come on a long way.

Generally, treatment is very good, diagnoses are made accurately and spotted early and many fights through and continue on with their lives. However, mistakes inevitably happen.

Cancer is a miserable disease, and misdiagnosis can lead to all sorts of complications. If you’ve directly suffered as a result of cancer misdiagnosis, you may be able to pursue a claim.

If you need medical negligence solicitors in Manchester then look no further. Call our number to be redirected to local experts!

Their experienced team will help guide you during what is a very difficult time.  

The Unfortunate Reality of Cancer 

Cancer occurs when the body’s natural cell mechanisms malfunction. In this sense, cancer can occur anywhere in the body, though some types are much more common than others which can be attributed to specific reasons.

For example, the correlation between smoking and lung cancer.

Our modern technology is amazing, however, and is still making massive strides.

While not all cancer is curable, survival rates have drastically increased, as well as the levels of care. It’s possible for many to live almost completely normal lives outside of their program of treatment.

Cancer survival for common cancers

Regardless, one of the most important factors in determining the patient’s success with treatment is the diagnosis.

It’s imperative that diagnoses are made quickly and accurately to avoid situations where the patient’s condition could have been prevented. 

Missing the Diagnosis 

Sometimes, a patient may have cancer that is responsible for any number of symptoms, but the diagnosis is missed.

This may be due to incorrect reading of an x-ray or scan, for example.

Missing a cancer diagnosis may mean the patient is prescribed an incorrect course of ineffective medicine, and correct treatment is delayed.

If the patient’s condition significantly worsens where the correct diagnosis should have been made, they may have a claim.  

Misdiagnosis 

It’s possible that a patient can be diagnosed with cancer when they don’t have it, or are diagnosed with the wrong type. Sometimes benign growths can be mistaken as cancerous.

This can lead to unnecessary treatments that cause a patient massive stress and discomfort for no reason. 

Delays 

Lastly, delays do happen.

It may be that a patient is showing signs of a potentially deadly disease, but they have to wait a long time before being referred for more extensive analysis.

Sometimes biopsies and other tests take much longer than they should for the results to be produced.

Any time lost in getting to the correct diagnosis can be deadly as treatment for cancer needs to start immediately. 

Negligent Treatment 

Cancer may be successfully caught early, and you may have been briefed on your course of treatment and know what to expect.

There are a number of different treatments for various types and stages of cancer which should be thoroughly explained to you.

Radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery. It may be one type of treatment, multiple types, or you may have to try one and reassess should it not prove successful.

Different types of treatment need to be prescribed with the correct considerations to ensure the best course of action for you. Regardless, negligence can occur with any form of treatment.

Chemotherapy, for example, requires very specific action depending on the specific case, given the powerful drugs involved.

Occasionally, the wrong course is given which can cause more harm than good.  

Mistakes happen during surgery, and surgery to remove cancerous cells is no exception.

Negligence may occur, for example, if the patient develops an infection as a direct result, or has excessive bleeding or their organs are affected.

We’ll write more fully in the future about all the permutations that constitute negligent treatment, but for now, this gives an overview of the larger concerns. 

You can find more detailed statistics about cancer survival for common cancers here.

Hopefully we get to the stage where cancer is no longer a concern in our lives. Whether it is by prevention, or by treatments that can kill off cancerous cells without much fuss, we can hope that we get there.

Between the medical experts in the world, and the everyday person with donations to research, the fight is truly on!  

If you’ve suffered as a direct result of problems relating to your cancer and misdiagnosis, you may have a claim. Talk to professional medical negligence solicitors today and they’ll provide the necessary support and advice should you have a claim.