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Advice Centre

Delayed diagnosis and delayed treatment of bowel cancer

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Categories: Medical negligence
Date published: 15/07/2022

We all probably know someone in our circle who has cancer  this is a sad reality today.  For patients’ and families dealing with a cancer diagnosis often their world is turned upside down once they have to navigate cancer care with the reality of the possibility of a life cut short.

The outcome for patients varies on the type of cancer they have,  the timing of the diagnosis and the quality of cancer care they receive.  With advances in modern medicine survival rates have improved but balanced with that, for the patient is the challenge of getting timely cancer care especially, when the NHS is under so much pressure following the pandemic.

Thanks to the inspirational Dame Deborah James who died recently of bowel cancer at the age of 40,  we are more aware of this disease.  Bowel cancer is cancer of the large bowel also known as rectal or colon cancer.

Bowel cancer can manifest with symptoms like blood in the toilet. A frequent need to go to toilet and tummy pain including feeling bloated are also typical symptoms. A person may feel dizzy or more tired than usual, the NHS advice is if anyone has these symptoms while this may not mean they have cancer, if the symptoms persist for 3 weeks or more it is advisable to see the G.P.  The earlier the cancer is diagnosed, the easier it is to treat the cancer for a better outcome.

Help and information can be found here:

We represent the injured in medical negligence cases and act for clients’ and their families where there has been a delay in diagnosing cancer. If there is no diagnosis despite the patient visiting his or her G.P. with worrying symptoms then there will be no treatment. Without timely diagnosis and treatment, the patient’s prognosis or  outcome will be compromised.   For some it is a question of a better quality of life or the risk of death from the disease. The impact on the patient and their families when there has been a delay in diagnosis and delay in treatment can be devastating, especially, if they discover that they had a good chance of beating the disease or at best, having a better quality of life had the cancer been caught early. We act of client’s where there has been a delay in diagnosis and a delay in treatment.

If you would like to have an informal chat with our Clinical Negligence experts in confidence to see if you have a viable claim then please complete the contact form on our website and we will give you a call back at a time convenient to you or please call/ contact Daxa Patel, Clinical Negligence Partner & Solicitor by contacting us on 0330 107 0107 or email clinicalnegligence@imd.co.uk. Once we are contacted by you, one of our helpful team members will contact you. Please note we have a team of lawyers who speak many languages including English, Polish, Romanian, Russian and Lithuanian.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.

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