Late and Missed Diagnosis of Cancer

It has recently been reported the numbers dying from cancer have been above the five year norm.  There can be no doubt the pandemic has played its part in this.

Advances are being made in both diagnosis and treatment.  Although people are more aware that early detection of cancer makes it easier to treat, such as through the “Be Clear on Cancer” campaign, there are still those who are reluctant to go to the doctor for fear that they may be wasting the doctor’s time.  Also, during the pandemic, many would have feared being a burden on the NHS or found they were unable to access services when the attention was turned to Covid. 

Many of the cases I have dealt with have resulted from failure to read results, failure to report an incidental finding of a tumour whilst undergoing other investigations or the results being wrongly reported as requiring no further action.

I have had two recent cases where the Hospital admitted the failure to diagnose sooner and settled both claims amicably. In the first case client had a scan which diagnosed lung cancer. The same scan also detected an abnormality in his bowel, but no action was taken. He underwent successful treatment for the lung cancer. About 3 years after the treatment, his GP referred him back to the same Hospital with suspected recurrence of the lung cancer. The further scan reported the bowel cancer and treatment commenced. Had the bowel cancer been treated sooner, client would have avoided the need for chemotherapy, and the side effects caused by the same. In the second case client had annual check-ups for 2 years, following successful treatment for bowel cancer. The scans had shown a lung nodule. However, the last scan report failed to mention that the nodule had grown significantly. About 4 years after the last scan client went to his GP with unexplained weight loss.  His GP referred him back to the same Hospital. The scan showed the lung nodule had grown into mass and had spread to his bowel. The tumour was inoperable.