Did you undergo unnecessary cancer treatments? If yes, you can set up a million-dollar case against your doctor. A majority of the cancer misdiagnosis cases include a situation where the doctor misses out on the signs and symptoms of cancer and refers them to some other physical condition. In the United States of America, there are a shocking number of people who have been suffering from this.
How does misdiagnosis of cancer occur?
Generally, cases of misdiagnoses are way too common. In fact, as per statistics from Healthline, around 15 million people suffer from misdiagnosis every year, only in the US. It is sad enough to estimate that around 40,000 to 80,000 people die annually due to complications that arose due to misdiagnosis.
Cancer is also a grave diagnosis and it happens to be life-threatening in most cases. A team of health physicians should be instantly able to diagnose this critical and fatal disease by conducting a few tests. However, it is sad to note that there are several cases where cancer is not diagnosed at the right time. There are too many factors to blame and Albany Delayed Cancer Diagnosis lawyers can help you with this.
Misdiagnosing cancer – How it happens
One of the biggest reasons behind misdiagnosing cancer is that there are some types of cancers that are harder to diagnose than the others. Some types of this disease are extremely rare and hence people don’t pay attention to them. Since very few resources are invested in diagnosing them and treating them, such errors keep increasing in number.
There are times when it gets tough to locate cancer cells or to determine whether or not a cell is cancerous. This task is done by pathologists that examine tissue and blood under the microscope and who often make the mistake of seeing cancer when there’s no cancer and not seeing when it’s there.
How to react when this happens to you
If your doctor tells you that there is a misdiagnosis of cancer in your case, or even if noone tells you, it is crucial to get a second opinion. Here is a list of the situations when you should opt for a second opinion:
- When your doctor is not sure about the extent and type of cancer you have
- When you have been told that you have a rare form of cancer
- When you feel that your doctor is underestimating the gravity of your disease
- When your doctor is not a specialist of your type of cancer
- When you feel there are other available alternative treatments
In order to not become a victim of misdiagnosis, you have to speak thoroughly with your doctors. Be frank with the doctor who has misdiagnosed you. Maintain the copies of your records, hospital stays and pathology reports. You may even ask your doctors to meet together and discuss your case. Get more opinions if you think that diagnoses are different from each other.