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Failure to Diagnose Cancer

Unnecessary Cancer Tests IdentifiedPosted on 4/19/2012
Could What Happened to a NY Breast Cancer Victim Happen in Georgia?Posted on 3/2/2012
Young Adult Cancer Death Rate Has Not Fallen as it Has for Other AgesPosted on 1/28/2012
Pediatric Failure to Diagnose Cancer Case to Move ForwardPosted on 1/25/2012
Avoiding Cancer Deaths: UGA Researchers Share Exciting Cancer NewsPosted on 1/16/2012

What are the causes of a doctor's failure to diagnose cancer?

A: If cancers have sufficient time to develop in the body, they can increase in severity. If enough time passes without a diagnosis, the cancer may even reach what's known as stage IV, or the most serious level of development possible. At stage IV, cancers have metastasized to one or more distant areas of the body, which typically leads to relatively poor prognoses for patients.

Cancers usually show symptoms before developing to late stages. Despite this, many cancers go undiagnosed for too long, and the consequences can be dire. Medical negligence is often one of the reasons for a cancer to go undetected for long periods of time and can include:

A doctor, pathologist or radiologist misinterpreting diagnostic test results
A doctor's misdiagnosis of cancer symptoms as being due to another medical condition
Diagnostic tests being improperly administered
A doctor failing to order diagnostic tests for a patient with classic symptoms

Occasionally, symptoms for some cancers may not begin to appear until the disease has advanced. However, medical negligence may still occur if the doctor knows a patient is at high risk of cancer and doesn't follow recommended screening guidelines for the patient's age group.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer and feel it was originally missed or there was a delayed diagnosis by your doctor in Georgia, please request a copy of our free book, I Have Cancer...Should It Have Been Caught Earlier?, or contact an experienced Atlanta medical malpractice and cancer lawyer at the Dover Law Firm at 770-518-1133 to schedule a free consultation.

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