Physician's Failure To Recommend Colon Cancer Screening Could Result In Advanced Cancer

The second greatest number of cancer deaths is from colon cancer.. Every year, around forty eight thousand individuals will pass away because of colon cancer. A large number of these deaths could be prevented with early diagnosis and treatment by standard colon cancer screening of asymptomatic men and women.

When the cancer is located as a small polyp in the course of a regularly scheduled screening procedure, for example, a colonoscopy, the polyp can frequently be removed in the course of the colonoscopy. At this point, there is no need for the surgical removal of any portion of the colon. If the polyp grows into a tumor and reaches Stage 1 or Stage 2, the tumor and a part of the colon on both sides is surgical taken out. The relative 5-year survival rate is over 90% for Stage I and seventy three percent for Stage 2.
If the disease advances to Stage III, surgery is no longer sufficient and the person also needs to undergo chemotherapy. At this stage the likelihood that the individual will still be alive more than 5 years subsequent to the diagnosis falls to 53%, depending on such variables as how many lymph nodes that have cancer.

As soon as the colon cancer reaches Stage 4, treatment might necessitate the use of chemotherapy and possibly different drugs along with surgery on various organs. Should the measurement and quantity of tumors in other organs (such as the liver and lungs) are sufficiently few, surgery to take out the cancer from those other organs may be the primary treatment, then chemotherapy. In some cases the dimensions or number of tumors in the other organs removes the choice of surgery as a treatment.
If chemotherapy and additional drugs can reduce the quantity and dimensions of these tumors, surgery may at that point become an option as the second form of treatment. If not, chemotherapy and other drugs (perhaps through clinical trials) might temporarily halt or reduce the further progression of the cancer. With metastasis the person's chance of surviving the cancer for greater than five years following diagnosis is reduced to approximately eight percent.

The statistics are clear. The time frame in which the cancer is found and treated results in a dramatic difference. If found and treated early, the patient has an excellent chance of surviving the cancer. As detection and treatment is delayed, the odds begin turning against the individual so that once the colon cancer gets to Stage III, the percentage is nearly even. Plus the odds fall precipitously once the colon cancer reaches Stage 4.

However, too frequently physicians do not recommend routine cancer testing to men and women who are asymptomatic. When the cancer is eventually found - many times due to the fact that the tumor has become so large that it is leading to blockage, because the person is losing blood internally and that condition is getting progressively worse, or because the individual starts to detect other indications - the colon cancer is a Stage 3 or even a Stage 4. The patient now confronts a much different outlook than if the cancer had been found early by routine screening.
In medical malpractice terms, the person has suffered a "loss of chance" of a better recovery. In other words, since the doctor failed to advisev that the patient have a routine screening test, the cancer is now much more advanced and the individual faces a much reduced likelihood of surviving the cancer. The failure of a physician to advise the person have screening options for colon cancer may amount to medical malpractice.

Contact a lawyer immediately if you feel there was a delayed diagnosis of colon cancer owing to a physician's failure to recommend routine colon cancer screening. This article is for general educational uses only and should not be considered legal (or medical) advice. For any health issues your should consult with a physician. If you think you may have a medical malpractice claim consult with a lawyer right away. A competent lawyer experienced in medical malpractice can help you determine if you have a claim for a delay in the diagnosis of colon cancer due to a failure on the part of a physician to recommend colon cancer screening. There is a time limit in cases like these so do not wait to call an attorney.