subject: Not Following The Colon Cancer Screening Guidelines May Delay Diagnosis [print this page] The second greatest number of cancer fatalities is from colon cancer.. Each year, around forty eight thousand people will pass away as a result of colon cancer. Many of these fatalities could be avoided with early diagnosis and treatment by standard colon cancer testing in advance of when symtoms appear.
If the disease is detected as a small polyp while undergoing a routine screening test, for example, a colonoscopy, the polyp might be able to be taken out in the course of the colonoscopy. At this point, there is no need for the surgical removal of any segment of the colon. If,however, the polyp becomes a tumor and reaches Stage 1 or Stage 2, the tumor and a part of the colon on each side of the tumore is surgical removed. The relative 5-year survival rate is over ninety percent for Stage I and seventy three percent for Stage 2.
In case the cancer gets to Stage 3, surgery is not enough and the patient also needs to undergo chemotherapy. At this stage the chances that the person will outlive the cancer by at least five years is reduced to fifty three percent, depending on such variables as how many lymph nodes that have cancer.
As soon as the colon cancer metastasizes, treatment may require chemotherapy and perhaps other drugs along with surgery on multiple organs. Should the size and quantity of tumors in other organs (for example, the liver and lungs) are small enough, surgery on these organs might be the initial treatment, then chemotherapy. In some cases the dimensions or number of tumors in the other organs takes away the possibility of surgery as part of the treatment.
If chemotherapy and different drugs can reduce the number and dimensions of these tumors, surgery may at that point become an option as the second form of treatment. If not, chemotherapy and various drugs (possibly from clinical trials) may temporarily halt or reduce the further progression of the cancer. The relative 5-year survival rate drops to approximately 8%.
As the relative 5-year survival rates indicate, the time frame wherein the colon cancer is diagnosed and treated results in a dramatic difference. If found and treated early, the patient has an excellent chance of outliving the cancer. When detection and treatment is delayed, the probability starts turning from the person so that once the colon cancer gets to Stage III, the percentage is almost 50/50. Further the probability drops precipitously when the colon cancer metastasizes.
However, all too often doctors do not advise standard cancer testing to men and women who are asymptomatic. When the cancer is eventually found - sometimes because the tumor has become so large that it is resulting in blockage, since the patient has unexplained anemia that is getting progressively worse, or since the individual starts to notice other symptoms - the colon cancer has already advanced to a Stage 3 or even a Stage 4. The individual now faces a very different outlook than if the cancer had been detected early by standard screening tests.
Attorneys who handle cancer cases often refer to this as a loss of chance of a better recovery. That is to say, since the doctor failed to advisev that the patient have a routine screening test, the cancer is now considerably more advanced and the person has a much reduced likelihood of outliving the cancer. A physician may be liable for not meeting the standard of care if he or she does not recommend cancer screening to a patient who later is determined to have advanced colon cancer.
You need to consult with an attorney without delay if you feel there was a delayed diagnosis of colon cancer owing to a physician's not suggesting routine colon cancer screening. This article is for general educational uses only and should not be considered legal (or medical) advice. For any health concerns your should consult with a physician. If you suspect you may have a medical malpractice claim you should seek professional legal counsel without delay. A competent lawyer with experience in medical malpractice can assist determine whether you have a claim for a delay in the diagnosis of colon cancer as a result of a failure on the part of a physician to recommend colon cancer screening. The law limits the amount of time you have to pursue a case so do not wait to call an attorney.
by: Joseph Hernandez
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