Patients expect that if they see their doctor and report a change in their body that that doctor and any specialists to whom that physician sends them will be able to properly diagnose their symptoms. In some cases however a person’s colon cancer keeps being misdiagnosed over a period of years by a number of separate physicians. Below we look at a published instance where this happened.
The patient, a husband and father of three children, started seeing the defendant doctor when he was 48 years old. Ten years later the doctor performed a sigmoidoscopy on the man and made an entry in his records documenting that he found a ridge which was bleeding. Because of this finding, the physician sent the man to a second doctor who in turn also performed a sigmoidoscopy. This physician also found the ridge and biopsied it. Seven months later this second doctor performed a full colonoscopy which found a polyploid ring measuring roughly two centimeters. A portion of this polyp was removed and cauterized. Multiple specimens of the polyp were taken. A biopsy of the samples revealed atypical cells and determined that it was unknown whether the full polyp had been extracted.
The subsequent year this second physician performed a barium enema. The doctor listed the results as normal apart from minor diverticulosis. The doctor suggested that the patient go back for a follow-up colonoscopy in three years. The doctor failed to make any other recommendations.
After another 2 years the patient went to see a third physician and requested an additional sigmoidoscopy. This third physician noted inflammation and bleeding. But, this physician failed to biopsy the region or perform any further evaluation or treatment of the inflamed area. Instead, this physician suggested that the patient get another sigmoidoscopy after three years.
The following year, the patient again saw the third physician. During this visit the patient complained of rectal bleeding. The physician did a rectal examination with an anoscopy however he did no additional evaluation even when the patient again complained of rectal bleeding later that same year. Following still one more year, the man complained of several weeks of constipation and abdominal pain. The doctor prescribed a dietary supplement and stool softener to treat the symptoms yet did no further evaluations to determine the cause.
A brief time later the man had severe abdominal pain and went to the emergency room where it was determined that he had blockage. Biopsies of the rectum indicated the likely presence of cancer. The patient underwent a further sigmoidoscopy a month later which encountered cancer.
Because of the size and location of the cancer the man underwent treatment with chemotherapy and radiation therapy before getting surgery. During surgery his rectum was taken out and several tumors were discovered in his liver. Eventually, the liver tumors increased in size and there was additional metastasis to his lungs. The man subsequently died from the cancer.
The law firm that represented the family in this matter announced that a settlement was reached with defendant doctors for the amount of $825,000. This lawsuit illustrates the importance of close monitoring of patients with a history of symptoms and the importance of properly diagnosing the cause of those symptoms. Because cancer can spread and become incurable if there is a delay in diagnosis, treatment and an accurate and early diagnosis is crucial. Anything else may lead to a tragic result.
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