It is important for your doctor to be alert to the possibility of cancer. An early diagnosis can result in a stronger prognosis because treatment can commence before the cancer spreads or intensifies. Late diagnosis of cancer can result in worsened outcomes, including death. It is crucial for doctors to screen for various types of cancer even before there are symptoms. If you or a loved one reached Stage 4 and believe the cancer should have been caught sooner, you should discuss what happened with the seasoned Syracuse medical malpractice lawyers of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano. Our firm seeks the best outcomes and has years of experience working on cases that involve failure to screen, failure to diagnose, and failure to treat different types of cancer.
Stage 4 CancerCancer involves the abnormal growth of cells. The disease quickly multiplies, and it may metastasize or spread to other parts of the body. There are more than one hundred kinds of cancer, including:
Doctors use a staging system to indicate the severity of cancer. Various tests are used to determine the stage of the cancer in question including biopsy, endoscopy, physical exams, blood tests, and MRI scans. Other factors are also considered like the size of the tumor, where it is located, whether cancer has entered the lymph nodes, and how far cancerous cells have spread.
Failure to DiagnoseCertain types of cancer are, on average, diagnosed later than others, such as cervical cancer. Generally, Syracuse doctors must screen patients that are at risk of getting certain types of cancer so that they don’t progress to Stage 4. Survival rates tend to show the likelihood of living for a specific timeframe once a doctor diagnosis cancer, and in some cases, people survive with certain types of cancer even though they have gotten to Stage 4, particularly where the cancer is well-understood, and the types of treatments are well-tested.
Your treatment plan upon diagnosis depends on what type of cancer you have and how far your cancer has spread within your body. Treatments at Stage 4 may be focused on improving quality of life, while others may focus on stopping cancer’s growth. These treatments can include targeted therapy, immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.
Medical Malpractice DamagesNot every mistake that leads to Stage 4 cancer is the result of medical malpractice. To prove medical malpractice in your case, our attorneys would need to show: (1) your doctor owed you a professional standard of care, (2) breach of the professional standard of care, (3) causation, and (4) actual damages.
The professional standard of care depends on what a reasonably competent doctor in the same specialty and same location would have done given the same circumstances. For instance, your oncologist’s failure to provide you with chemotherapy when a reasonably competent oncologist in Syracuse would have may constitute a breach of the professional standard of care. If you were harmed by this failure, you may have a claim.
Damages tend to be higher when a patient wasn’t screened or not diagnosed when symptoms were present, and he or she reaches Stage 4. These losses can include past and future medical care, pain and suffering, replacement services, loss of enjoyment, and lost wages.
Wrongful DeathCancer is one of the leading causes of death in America, as is misdiagnosis. When cancer reaches Stage 4, it is possible that a claimant will die before a decision is reached in his case. It may be appropriate for the decedent’s family to continue the case and pursue wrongful death damages at that point. Under New York law, our attorneys can only seek and recover pecuniary losses in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Seek the Best Outcome for a Stage 4 Cancer CaseIf you suffered serious injuries or a loved one died as the result of reaching Stage 4 cancer that could have been caught sooner in Upstate New York, you should call our seasoned Syracuse medical malpractice lawyers. DeFrancisco & Falgiatano represents clients in Herkimer, Lowville, Watertown, Rochester, Auburn, Canandaigua, Oswego, Wampsville, Lyons, Ithaca, Cooperstown, Oneida, Utica, Binghamton, and Elmira. Complete our online form or call us at 833-200-2000 for a free consultation.