No one sees a doctor hoping for a cancer diagnosis. They want a doctor to identify an easy-to-treat medical condition that doesn’t have any major long-term consequences. Unfortunately, symptoms that might seem minor and manageable could be warning signs of cancer.
It is necessary for medical professionals to adhere to best practices when diagnosing a patient to ensure they get the care they require to heal. Doctors who don’t follow appropriate diagnostic procedures might reach the wrong conclusion about the underlying cause of a patient’s symptoms. They might fail to diagnose the patient entirely or identify a different cause of their symptoms.
In such cases, it could be months later before a patient with cancer receives the right diagnosis. Failure to diagnose cancer as quickly as possible can sometimes constitute medical malpractice and could very well have a negative impact on a patient.
Cancer can spread rapidly
Some types of cancer initially develop slowly. Mesothelioma, for example, is notorious for taking decades to produce symptoms. How fast cancer grows and spreads depends on the type of cancer and many other factors.
So long as cancer remains localized, patients may have a decent prognosis and options for minimally invasive treatment. Once cancer starts spreading or metastasizes, treatment options diminish. The patient’s prognosis also worsens. The failure to diagnose cancer in its early stages might mean that a patient has fewer treatment options and a lower chance of survival. Cancer can spread to other systems and parts of the body within weeks in some cases.
After cancer spreads, the treatment patients receive might be more invasive. They may need to undergo chemotherapy and similar treatments with debilitating side effects. They may not be able to work while receiving treatment. Their cancer could cause both medical expenses and lost wages.
Doctors receive training about diagnostic procedures and should understand the importance of ruling out the worst possible source of symptoms before reaching a conclusion. Rushing to the easiest explanation may result in patients not getting the care they need before their condition worsens.
If another doctor could have diagnosed the cancer when the patient first sought care, the failure to conform to diagnostic standards might constitute medical malpractice. Patients and grieving families can file medical malpractice lawsuits related to the failure to diagnose cancer. Successful lawsuits can lead to compensation for increased treatment costs and other economic harm related to a diagnostic failure.