The diagnosis of cancer for the patient and the family is devastating news but dealing with a delayed cancer diagnosis or a misdiagnosis of cancer is even more worse.
The failure to diagnose and treat cancer in a timely manner can change the patient’s overall prognosis, it can also hasten their death or some cases reduce their prospects of recovery. Cancer is more likely to be treated successfully if diagnosed early but around 110,000 cancer patients a year are diagnosed too late.
Cancerous cells can grow and reproduce at remarkable speed in a specific part of the body. Left untreated the cells can attack and destroy healthy tissue. Abnormal cells can turn into a lump which is known as a tumour.
Acting for patients treated for gastroenteritis instead of their real ailment such as stomach cancer has given us an insight in the avoidable suffering on clients and their families.
This can happen when a patient is told they have nothing to worry about and they are in good health when in fact there are symptoms which if identified earlier would have improved the chances of recovery. Delayed diagnosis happens when a correct diagnosis is made later though there were chances of making an earlier diagnosis resulting in the patient starting the treatment later. The impact of both these errors can mean the difference between life and death sometimes, especially when a window to treat the patient is lost.
The earlier the cancer is diagnosed the better the patient’s chances of survival and sometimes overall recovery.
Medical professionals have a duty of care to ensure thorough, careful checks, investigation and tests are done to assess the patient’s condition. When cancer is suspected the medical professional should follow the guidelines as outlined by NICE. These are best practice guides and evidence based recommendations for health care professionals in England.
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