Most people in Ohio and Pennsylvania know the importance of early detection of potential cancerous tumors. Delays in diagnosis, or the failure to diagnose cancer, can be devastating for a patient. Delays in diagnosis can allow the cancer to grow (and potentially spread), which can lead to the need for more aggressive treatment down the road-or worse.

Earlier this year, a woman from the Southern United States filed a lawsuit to seek justice, claiming that a doctor failed to properly diagnose her cancer when she visited the doctor in 2008. The woman was experiencing chest pains. She says that the pains were especially bad at night–she also experienced a burning sensation and often felt as if something was stuck in her throat.

She says that the doctor did little for her before sending her home. Her condition continued to deteriorate. She says that she attempted to set up a follow up appointment with the doctor. Ultimately, she set up an appointment with a new doctor, who properly diagnosed the woman as having non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Unfortunately, that diagnosis came four to five months after she first reported the symptoms to the first doctor.

She has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit over the delayed diagnosis. The non-Hodgkin's lymphoma advanced during the delay, she says, necessitating more aggressive surgery in her medical treatment.

We rely upon medical professionals to properly diagnose illnesses. When a doctor fails to diagnose cancer, the potential outcomes for a patient can be severely impacted by the unnecessary delay. Patients can also face increased financial burdens if a doctor misdiagnoses a disease such as cancer. A medical malpractice lawsuit may help a patient to recover losses and serve to keep doctors in check for failing to diagnose the condition to help future patients.

Source: The Louisiana Record, "Woman sues doctor and hospital for allegedly misdiagnosing her non-Hodgkin's lymphoma," Kyle Barnett, April 10, 2013