Boston Cancer Misdiagnosis Attorney
Guiding Clients & Families After Cancer Misdiagnosis in Boston, MA
When a patient has signs or symptoms that may be cancer, it is important for the health care provider to take those symptoms seriously and order the proper tests to determine whether the patient has cancer or another life-threatening disease. Our Boston cancer misdiagnosis attorneys at Crowe & Harris, LLP understand that these types of health concerns and complaints are sometimes ignored or overlooked until it’s too late. In these circumstances, a patient may face serious consequences, or even death, as a result of a wrong or delayed diagnosis of cancer.
Even with few or no symptoms, many patients should be screened for common forms of cancer. Patients with a family history or genetic predisposition to cancer may warrant close attention and medical monitoring. If proper screening isn’t done, serious medical conditions may not be diagnosed until it’s too late for effective treatment.
If you or someone you know has suffered injury or death as a result of a doctor’s wrong or delayed diagnosis of cancer, you may be entitled to compensation for the suffering and losses you have experienced. Our skilled Boston cancer misdiagnosis attorneys understand the devastating situation you or your loved ones are facing. Therefore, as part of helping you receive justice for your case, our medical-legal staff knows how to identify medical signs and symptoms that may have been missed or ignored by a health care provider. Our Boston cancer misdiagnosis lawyers represent families throughout New England, including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
Contact the Boston cancer misdiagnosis attorneys at Crowe & Harris, LLP at (617) 404-3417 today for a free consultation about your case.
On This Page:
- Why You Need a Boston Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer
- Commonly Misdiagnosed Cancers
- Dangers of Delayed or Misdiagnosed Cancer
- Contact Us After a Cancer Misdiagnosis in Boston, MA
Why You Need a Boston Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer
A cancer misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis can have serious consequences, from unnecessary treatments and increased medical costs to emotional distress and reduced treatment options.
A cancer misdiagnosis lawyer in Boston can help by:
- Reviewing your medical records: We can analyze your diagnosis, treatment history, and medical decisions to determine whether the standard of care was followed.
- Identifying medical negligence: Our team can investigate whether a doctor, hospital, or medical provider failed to recognize symptoms, order proper testing, or provide timely treatment.
- Working with medical experts: Cancer misdiagnosis cases often require expert review to explain how the delay affected your health and treatment options.
- Calculating your losses: An attorney can evaluate medical expenses, lost income, future care needs, and the broader impact of the misdiagnosis.
- Handling insurance companies and legal requirements: A lawyer can manage communications, protect important deadlines, and advocate for your interests throughout the claim process.
The Boston cancer misdiagnosis lawyers at Crowe & Harris, LLP have years of experience working with patients, such as yourself, who have suffered at the hands of careless or incompetent doctors. We understand the importance of your time and money, and we are prepared to help you fight back and pursue justice.
Commonly Misdiagnosed Cancers
Busy doctors may sometimes ignore a patient’s signs or symptoms, or simply attribute them to stress, muscle strain, heartburn, migraine, or other less serious conditions. If the doctor is wrong, the patient may suffer from serious harm or even death. In many cases, a patient may suffer from very general symptoms, which are common with many different medical problems, making it difficult for medical professionals to provide an accurate diagnosis regardless of competence.
However, there are a number of different common conditions that have signs and symptoms identifiable enough that most medical professionals are expected to recognize them, but many often fail to do so. Some of these include the following:
Bone Cancer
Bone cancer symptoms can sometimes be mistaken for other conditions. A failure to investigate persistent pain, swelling, or other warning signs may delay diagnosis and treatment.
Breast Cancer
A delayed breast cancer diagnosis can allow the disease to progress and may lead to more serious health consequences, including:
- Spread of cancer cells
- Development of tumors
- Damage to internal organs
- Decreased physical strength / weakness
- Emergency surgery
Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in American men, with about 27,000 individuals losing their lives to this disease every year. Prostate cancer symptoms can sometimes be overlooked or attributed to other conditions.
Possible warning signs include:
- Frequent urination
- Pain during urination
- Blood in one’s urine
- Difficulty starting / stopping urination
- Urine leaking while laughing or coughing
- Inability to urinate while standing
- Weak urine flow
Colon Cancer
Sometimes medical errors or malpractice lead to a case of colon cancer being misdiagnosed. As a result of this failure to properly diagnose, a person suffering from colon cancer may not discover they have the illness until it has progressed to a point where it is extremely dangerous and much harder to treat.
Ovarian Cancer
If ovarian cancer is caught when it is at stage I, a woman has an 89% chance of surviving the next five years. Unfortunately, if ovarian cancer is not identified and diagnosed until stage III or later, a woman’s five-year survival rate drops significantly.
Doctors should be able to distinguish the following symptoms as signs of ovarian cancer and perform diagnostic testing accordingly:
- Abdominal pressure or bloating
- Constipation
- Pelvic pain
- Changes in urination
- Fatigue
- Inexplicable changes in weight
Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is one of the most deadly forms of cancer for both men and women in the United States.
General symptoms of lung cancer include:
- Persistent, heavy cough
- Difficulty breathing
- Pain in the chest
- Wheezing
- Inexplicable weight loss
- Pain throughout the body
- Hoarseness / lost voice
- Discharge of bloody mucus when coughing
Cervical Cancer
Unfortunately, sometimes physicians ignore the key symptoms of cervical cancer, misdiagnosing the condition or delaying diagnosis.
Physicians should be able to recognize these symptoms as possible cervical cancer and order applicable diagnostic tests:
- Watery, sometimes bloody discharge from the vagina
- Vaginal bleeding outside of menstrual period
- Pain during intercourse
- Pelvic pain
Brain Tumors
As brain tumors grow, they can put intense pressure on certain areas of the brain as well as lead to issues such as edema and hydrocephalus.
All of these can disrupt a brain’s normal functioning, leading to brain tumor symptoms including:
- Loss of coordination
- Loss of sensation in limbs
- Sensory loss, such as hearing loss or vision problems
- Changes in personality
- Memory problems
- Speech problems
- Headaches
- Confusion
- Seizures
If your doctor failed to recognize the symptoms of any of the above cancers, they have demonstrated serious negligence or incompetence in their professional duties. Even if your symptoms are not initially clear indicators of these types of cancers, it is your doctor’s duty to research and test for the cause of these problems until they get the right diagnosis.
You place your trust in your doctor because of their years of experience in the medical field. When this trust is broken, because of a misdiagnosis or late diagnosis, it is infuriating for you and your loved ones. Beyond the emotional impact this betrayal of trust causes, the consequences of a doctor’s failure to diagnose cancer can be life-threatening. This doctor or medical team must be held responsible for their actions.
Dangers of Delayed or Misdiagnosed Cancer
Cancer is a disease that gets progressively worse with time if the problem is not identified and then promptly treated. Fortunately, over the last several decades, there have been many medical advances in cancer research and treatment, which have allowed some patients to recover from cancer and continue to lead normal lives after treatment. Many of these treatments, however, are most effective if a doctor begins treatment during the early stages of the disease.
Some of the dangers of a cancer misdiagnosis include:
- Feeling steadily worse, health-wise
- The spread of cancer cells around the body
- Cancer attacking internal organs
- Moving beyond medical help, if the diagnosis is delayed long enough
These are just a few examples of the many different ways a cancer misdiagnosis can seriously affect your recovery and your life.
Cancer is a difficult disease to manage, but with a medical professional at your side, you should be able to expect the best possible treatment. When this is not the case, you have the right to fight back against the pain and suffering your doctor’s behavior has caused, and a cancer misdiagnosis attorney in Boston can explain what legal options may be available.
Contact Us After a Cancer Misdiagnosis in Boston, MA
If you or someone you know has suffered advanced cancer or a terminal cancer diagnosis as a result of a medical provider’s delay, our Boston cancer misdiagnosis attorney may be able to help you find out more about what happened, and whether you are entitled to compensation.
Contact a Boston cancer misdiagnosis lawyer at Crowe & Harris, LLP by calling (617) 404-3417 for a free consultation with an experienced member of our medical-legal team. Your doctor’s failure to act has caused your family significant suffering, but you do not have to manage these consequences alone.
