No one wants to receive a diagnosis of cancer, but what if a doctor tells you that you have cancer when you haven’t or perhaps even worse, tells you haven’t got it when you have?

Misdiagnosis of cancer whatever form it takes can have devastating effects. If you go untreated then the cancer may spread and your chances of recovery diminished, on the other hand you may be undergoing invasive treatment or receiving unnecessary medication as a result. The emotional effects can be devastating.

How can a claim arise?

In order to ascertain how a claim may arise, it is necessary to show whether the clinician involved fell short of the expected standards to be expected from someone with his or her qualifications and specialisations. It is also necessary to ask what would have been the outcome if the correct treatment had been carried out. If it was more likely than not that the correct treatment would have meant that the patient had a more than fifty per cent chance of recovery and the chances of recovery have been significantly reduced then a claim may lie. If the chances of recovery in the first place were less than 50% then it is going to be more difficult to pursue a claim. Cancer grows in stages and if you can show that your doctor has missed one of those stages allowing it to progress to the next perhaps more difficult stage then you may be able to claim.

Diagnosing Cancer When There is no cancer

This is more common than you might think and the effects of such a misdiagnosis can be dramatic. In a case a few years ago a 29 year old woman with children was mistakenly diagnosed with breast cancer. Her treatment involving a mastectomy was totally unnecessary and the extensive reconstructive surgery that followed similarly so. The physical and emotional effects on her were serious and she was awarded over £350,000. In a more recent case a misdiagnosis of thyroid cancer leading to the unnecessary removal of the thyroid led to an award of £25,000.

Failing To Diagnose Cancer

Some of the most commonly misdiagnosed cancers are breast, bowel and skin cancers. In a recent case heard earlier in 2011, a doctor admitted negligence for failing to contact the lady involved for follow up when lumps had been found in her breasts in 1999. The claimant visited a new doctor in 2001 and was referred to hospital where a bone scan raised a suspicion of bone metastases from primary breast cancer and the claimant died in 2003. Whilst the doctor concerned admitted negligence in failing to follow up, it remained to be decided whether she would have had the bone metastases had she been followed (in which case it would have been incurable in any event). Expert evidence was to the effect that she would not have had them and she could have had surgery with over a 90% chance of survival for ten years.

Making a Claim

If you believe that you have been incorrectly treated for cancer or have had a cancer missed that you believe could have been picked up earlier, it is important to seek specialist legal advice as soon as possible and certainly within three years of your receiving information leading you to believe that there might have been a problem with your diagnosis.