Individuals diagnosed with a serious disease like cancer must pursue aggressive and swift treatment options. When dealing with cancer, early diagnosis and treatment are essential to ensuring a positive outcome. Ironically, one woman who underwent surgery for her cancer was unable to pursue additional treatment for the disease due to her doctor's negligent acts.

The woman, who was in her mid-50s, was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery in an attempt to remove cancerous tissue. After the surgery, the woman developed an infection and other complications that indicated something was out of the ordinary.

A full 10 weeks after the surgery to remove the cancerous tissue, medical personnel discovered a sponge had been left inside the woman's body. The 18-by-18 inch sponge had caused the woman to develop infections and an illness that prevented her from undergoing the additional necessary cancer treatments of radiation and chemotherapy.

As a result of not being able to pursue additional treatment options, the woman succumbed to the cancer and died almost a year after undergoing the initial surgery. The wife and mother of three was only 56-years-old.

The woman's family filed a lawsuit against the surgeon who performed the surgery in which the sponge was left in the woman's body. In the lawsuit, the family asserts the surgeon was negligent in both leaving the sponge in the woman's body cavity as well as failing to ask for a sponge count to ensure none were missing.

A jury recently awarded the family more than $6 million citing the doctor's actions were indeed negligent in contributing to the woman's untimely death.

Source: Fay Observer, "Jury orders former Fayetteville doctor to pay %6 million in malpractice suit," Ali Rockett, Oct. 17, 2012