Earlier this month, we shared a story about a woman that had her breast cancer diagnosed as a clogged milk duct due to a doctor error. Residents in Ohio may be inclined to believe that this was a fluke, that it would not happen again or that it would not happen to them.

Unfortunately, this woman is not alone in her pain of misdiagnosis. Another woman that thought that she could trust a world-class health care system only to be let down when it counted the most is sharing her story.

The victim attended countless appointments with doctors over a span of three years only to be told that her chronic and debilitating back pain, coupled with extreme fatigue, was the results of a degenerative arthritic problem. She was told she did not have cancer. After years of suffering, an MRI revealed that cancerous tumors had crawled throughout almost the entirety of her spine, sacrum and pelvis.

The woman was given three years to live, and even this was contingent upon her response to treatment. Legal representation for the medical center refers to this woman's experience a series of unfortunate events. Some would call the series of doctor errors negligence.

The bottom line is that this woman could have missed her opportunity for aggressive life-extending treatment. Additionally, this victim had to endure years of pain that may have been alleviated had she been diagnosed in a timely manner. This woman seeks to ensure that this scenario will not happen again and encourages patients to be their own advocate.

Source: News Observer, "The pain of a missed diagnosis," Karen Holliman, April 10, 2012