subject: $1.25 Million Settlement In Lawsuit Claiming Doctor Failed To Follow Up On Indications Of Colon Canc [print this page] There are times when colon cancers bleed. Under some circumstances, the blood might be visible in the stool. In cases where the cancer is in the vicinity of the rectum, the blood could even surface as bright red. Even though the blood is not visible, the bleeding might still be detectible in other ways. For instance, the loss of blood might appear as anemia. Blood tests may disclose internal loss of blood that may be the result of a tumor in the colon. Crucial blood test results to evaluate include the hemoglobin, hematocrit, and Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) levels. Levels below the normal range may show blood loss and iron deficiency anemia. If a person presents with levels that are low for these tests physicians typically recognize that there ought to be additional testing to find out the reason for the blood loss, including the possibility of cancer of the colon.
Look at the case of a sixty four year old man whose blood tests revealed all of the above. The following year, the man's blood work found a deterioration of the person's condition. Also, the mans stools were discovered to contain blood. Yet, doing no additional testing, the doctor wrote a diagnosis of hemorrhoids into the person's chart. Also, the person's PSA level (a test that is used to screen males for prostate cancer) was a 10.3 (a level above a 4.0 is often considered high and suggestive of possible prostate cancer). The doctor made no mention in the patient's record to indicate an examination of the prostate. The doctor did not relay to the individual about the high PSA levels and failed to refer the person to a specialist. Roughly two years later the person went to a different physician. Given the mans age this doctor had him undergo a barium enema. The result: a diagnosis of advanced colon cancer. The patient died of the spread of the cancer less than 3 years after his diagnosis. The individual's family initiated a lawsuit against the physician who dismissed the patients abnormally low blood test results and overlooked the existence of blood in the mans stool. The law firm that represented the family reported a settlement in the amount of $1,250,000
Blood tests are done for a reason. Abnormal test results suggest that there might be something wrong, maybe even seriously wrong with the individual and call for follow up. At times follow up means repeating the blood test in just a short period of time to find out if the levels return to normal but when the levels are sufficiently above or below normal levels or continue to worsen, physicians typically recognize that this increases the need to order proper additional tests to find out the explanation for those levels. Doctors also commonly agree that blood in the stool of an adult person calls for immediate attention to rule out cancer of the colon as the cause. A colonoscopy is normally ordered to examine the entire colon and either find or exclude the existence of any tumors. This doctor did none of this.
by: J. Hernandez
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