Cancer is a very scary word. However, advances of modern medicine have made it no longer the automatic death warrant it was considered just a short time ago. Nonetheless, a potential diagnosis of cancer is never something that should be taken lightly or with anything other than diligence and a very serious attitude, both by health care providers and patients.
Cancer is generally described as abnormal cells that divide and grow at an increasingly uncontrollable rate. These abnormal cells become a tumor mass and they displace normal cells, interfering with the normal function of those organs or tissues. Most untreated cancer will eventually result in death.
If not timely and properly treated, cancer will tend to grow locally, and most will also eventually “metastasize” (spread to other areas of the body). Various cancer cell types grow or metastasize at different rates. The greater the “tumor burden,” the more difficult it becomes for the body to function normally. Eventually, the tumor burden if unchecked will cause the body to be unable to function at all.
As a general rule, the smaller and more local the cancer, the easier it is to treat successfully. As a corollary, the determination of whether cancer is likely to be treated successfully is very often dependent on: (a) the size of the tumor at the time of diagnosis or treatment; (b) the cancer cell type and its susceptibility to treatment; and (c) the presence or absence of metastases remote from the original location of the cancer.
In addition, once discovered cancerous tumors are usually removed, surgically and/or through beamed radiation exposure. But healthy surrounding tissue is also impacted by that surgery. Accordingly, the larger the tumor, the greater the potential impact on the surrounding area of the body if and when the tumor is surgically or radiologically removed. For example, if discovered early many localized breast cancers, known as “ductal carcinoma in situ,” can be successfully treated with only a limited “lumpectomy” surgery and no radiation or chemotherapy. However, if left untreated, those same cancers can grow locally and eventually require severely disfiguring mastectomy surgeries as well as radiation and/or chemotherapy, sometimes leading to death.
In addition, many cancers are subjected to chemotherapy, either after surgical or radiographic removal or shrinkage or initially, if surgery or radiation are not viable options. Generally speaking, the larger and more numerous the cancerous tumors, the more aggressive the recommended chemotherapy. But chemotherapy is essentially a poison. And while it is designed principally to attack cancer cells, it also destroys and impairs healthy cells. Accordingly, it is important to diagnose and treat early to minimize the required chemotherapy.
In short, the degree and success of treatment very often depends on the accuracy of early diagnosis and a proper course of treatment.
As explained above, the failure to diagnose and treat cancer in a timely manner can be life-threatening or can result in a much more invasive and disabling course of treatment. But not all delays in treatment result in any change in treatment or prognoses. Therefore, in determining whether a suit can be successfully pursued for failure to timely diagnose and treat cancer, an experienced professional must determine the specific cancer type, the length of delay in diagnosis/treatment, and the probable progressive stage of the cancer at the time it should have been diagnosed and treated, compared to the same information at the time it was actually discovered and treatment begun.
If you suspect a family member or you have been harmed by a delayed diagnosis of cancer, contact an experienced lawyer at Riley Law Firm to see what options you have in pursuing compensation.
