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Late Diagnosis of Cancer
Thousands of clinical compensation claims are initiated every year in the United Kingdom by medical negligence solicitors on behalf of people from all walks of life. A multitude of operations and procedures are executed successfully however a small percentage do go wrong, laying the grounds for medical negligence solicitors to take legal action in order to claim compensation. Both legal aid and the no win no fee scheme are available to pursue medical negligence compensation claims.
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Cancer is a disease where a cell of the body develops the propensity to grow unrestricted. The cell divides over and over again and the resultant mass of cells can overrun the body area it began in and can travel to other places and grow metastatic lesions. Metastatic lesions can be numerous and are often untreatable with surgery alone. The goal of every cancer doctor is to detect cancer in its early stages and to prevent the problems associated with metastatic disease.
Common cancers are breast cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer and prostate cancer. All of these start with just one cell that changes its DNA in such a way that the ability to restrict its growth is blocked. Rapid growth ensues and a lump of some kind forms. In the case of colon cancer, the cancer cells often grow on polyps that subsequently grow into the wall of the colon.
Early signs of almost all cancers are fatigue, weight loss and pain in the affected area. In lung cancer, an early sign is a cough, sometimes productive of bloody sputum. In colon cancer, there can be blood in the stool and abdominal pain. Breast pain can be painful as well because there can be swelling of the breast. Prostate cancer can show up with difficulty in urination. Skin cancer usually shows a visible skin lesion that cannot otherwise be explained by a minor condition.
The early diagnosis of cancer is important because usually surgery and perhaps chemotherapy can cure the person of the cancer in many cases. This means that patients need to seek medical attention for the above symptoms or any other symptoms they cannot explain. In most cases, the doctor can identify the cancer and can provide the proper treatment but, if the doctor doesn't listen to the patient's complaints, a late diagnosis of cancer may be the end result.
If a cancer is diagnosed late in its course, there is usually significant weight loss and fatigue. There can be a blocked colon in colon cancer, difficulty breathing in lung cancer and a large mass in the breast in breast cancer. Urination can be completely blocked if prostate cancer isn't diagnosed until its later stages. In skin cancer, the skin can become ulcerated and can ulcerate into surrounding organs and tissues.
The biggest danger in late diagnosis of cancer is metastatic disease. Prostate cancer, for example, can be metastatic to bone and can cause severe bone pain in many areas of the body along with the signs and symptoms of severe local disease. Breast cancer is often metastatic to the other breast, the lungs, the liver and the brain. It is not easily treatable in this condition and people often die when the disease is metastatic.
Colon cancer is often metastatic to liver, other parts of the abdomen and the lungs. Metastatic colon cancer is difficult to treat and the death rate is high. This is partly why it is so important to have a colonoscopy at the age of 50 and every ten years after that.
Skin cancer, especially melanoma, can metastasize to almost anywhere in the body. Only about five percent of metastatic skin cancer patients who begin with malignant melanoma survive after about five years. An early diagnosis of skin cancer in this case, would be life saving because 90-95 percent of very early melanoma patients survive their disease.
Lung cancer can metastasize to many places, including the brain and the other lung. Metastatic non-small cell cancer has a 1 percent five year survival rate.
The finding of most cancers in their early stages makes the difference between survival and death from cancer. Doctors need to recognize early signs of cancer and use the modalities available to detect cancer in asymptomatic patients before the cancer becomes advanced and out of control.