Fifty Four Year Old Woman Dies Of Colon Cancer After It Went Undiagnosed In 3 Colonoscopies

Certain people are at risk of having or developing certain forms of cancer. With colon cancer, for example, those with certain conditions (such as chron's disease), with certain symptoms (such as blood in the stool), or with family members who have had colon cancer (especially first degree relatives) are at risk. When an individual both has a family history and also has complaints of symptoms including blood in the stool, doctors usually agree that a colonoscopy is necessary to check whether the individual has colon cancer or exclude it. Aside from testing individuals who are at an increased risk level, physicians also ordinarily advocate that asymptomatic men and women who are fifty or older go through routine screening in order to find any cancer that might be growing in the colon before it reaches an advanced stage.

In the event that the doctor performing the colonoscopy cannot examine the full length of the colon it is possible that there may be cancer present in the unvisualized areas. Any time obstructions or inadequate preparation produce incomplete visualization of parts of the colon, the person needs to be informed and the physician ought to recommend to the individual that the colonoscopy ought to be done again or an alternative, for instance a virtual colonoscopy, be considered. In the event that the physician does not let the patient know that the colonoscopy was no finished or that there was insufficient visibility and suggest proper follow up too much time might pass before the patient begins to show symptoms or gets another screening procedure.

One medical malpractice claim that was reported concerned a female patient who died of colon cancer in her mid forties because her cancer was not found until it was at an advanced stage even though her doctors for years had information that she was at high risk. The first risk factor that this woman's doctors knew she had was a family history of cancer of the colon. The woman underwent three colonoscopies over six years. In that time she informed the physician that she suffered rectal bleeding and abdominal pain numerous times. Besides these 2 symptoms, her physicians, on at least one occasion, additionally observed that she had a third symptom of colon cancer - she had anemia.

The documentation from two of the colonoscopies showed that there was incomplete visualization of the ascending colon and cecum as it was impossible to take the scope further than the transverse colon. Nonetheless, this very doctor continued to assure the woman that there was no need for her to worry. The physician continued telling the woman that her symptoms were the result of hemorroids, at no time telling her that it had not been possible to examine the entire colon.

She was ultimately diagnosed with colon cancer when her tumor was found during exploratory surgery in order to establish the cause of her condition. The cancer had grown and spread so far that the patient had to have a large part of her intestines taken out and then had to undergo chemotherapy. Unfortunately, despite treatment she died from the cancer. As a result of the physician's failure to follow up on her symptoms given that there were 2 incomplete colonoscopies the woman's surviving family filed a claim. The law firm that represented the family in this claim was able to report that they were able to achieve a recovery for the family in the sum of $875,000

Physicians use diagnostic tests so as to find or rule out certain diseases for example certain kinds of cancers. For instance, the colonoscopy is a procedure employed to locate or exclude colon cancer however the result of the test is only as good as the exactness with which the test was performed. For the procedure a physician inserts a scope to see the inside of the colon to check if there are any polyps or tumors in the colon

When the total colon is not visualized, as in the lawsuit previously mentioned, a doctor cannot depend on it to rule out cancer. Doing so makes about as much sense as only listening to one of your lungs, examining only one of your eyes, or ordering only part of a complete blood count. Should the patient does have cancer this may result in a delay in diagnosis that allows the cancer time to grow and advance to an incurable stage. Under such circumstances the physician who counted on such an incomplete result may be liable.

Article Source: http://physicalfitnessarticles.net

Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting medical malpractice cases. You can learn more about cases involving coloncancer and other cancers including breastcancer by visiting the websites

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