Our lives are full of moments where there’s some form of adjusting that needs to be done. From small moments such as being a little late to a meeting to more significant moments like getting married, there will always be a time where we will need to get used to change. Our health is no exception to this.
While there are a number of factors that play into how we live out our lives, health happens to be one of the more significant ones of the bunch. It should come as no surprise as to why. After all, we can or can’t do a lot of things based on how healthy we are. In relation to this, sometimes we also have to adjust the way we live to help accommodate our health.
Unfortunately, sometimes we have to make more drastic changes to our lives because of our health. Specifically when we are experiencing certain illnesses. One perfect example is when we are faced with a diagnosis of cancer.
When one gets diagnosed with cancer, there’s just too much to process as it all happens. But, the entire process of realizing that diagnosis, understanding the gravity of it all, and looking forward in relation to that illness is anything but easy. It’s as if your life changes in an instant. A diagnosis like this has the potential to turn your entire life upside down.
Since cancer has such a significant impact on a person’s life, the best way to go about it would be to catch it as early on as possible. This way, it can be treated in the least complicated way possible, and you can help restore a person back to health. But, as much as ways to screen and diagnose this disease have improved, there is still room for error. So much so that a cancer medical error such as misdiagnosis is still possible. While a diagnosis of cancer has the gravity to change a person’s life completely, a misdiagnosis also has the gravity to do the same in a way of its own.
How Can A Misdiagnosis Happen?
Before learning about how a misdiagnosis can happen, it would be good first to understand what it is in the first place. As the phrase implies, this kind of misdiagnosis is when you get a wrong diagnosis when it comes to having cancer. You can either get what is called a false positive or a false negative. A false positive is when you are diagnosed with cancer when you do not actually have the disease. On the other hand, a false negative is when you do not get a cancer diagnosis when you actually have the illness.
With the advent of medical technology, you might wonder how these diagnoses can still come up. While it is true that all the machines and technology we have can help us more accurately diagnose these illnesses, they aren’t the only factor in play in these circumstances. There may still be some technical error, but there’s a factor even more significant than that. There is also the human factor. Unfortunately, it’s the human factor that can contribute most to these misdiagnoses.
The human error that contributes to these false positives or negatives can come in many different forms. For example, a doctor may not be able to give enough time to examine a patient thoroughly. In the field of medicine, a good clinical eye is crucial in being able to rule in and rule out certain illnesses. If one does not give the proper time to examine their patients, they could miss something out. In relation to this, not getting a patient’s full and complete history can also contribute to this. No matter how insignificant they can be, any and all details can help lead to a more accurate and proper diagnosis that fits your patient.
Another form of error that can come when one does not get the proper diagnosis would be ordering the wrong tests on your patient. Sometimes, a doctor might be looking at a completely different issue. They could then end up with a completely different diagnosis instead. If the tests are the right ones, a doctor could still either misinterpret the results or not run any more tests to help look into specific findings.
These are just some of the ways a misdiagnosis could occur. But, of course, these things don’t happen all the time. Doctors are still the best in what they do and have all the experience and knowledge to back their skills when it comes to diagnosing illness. But this does not discount the fact that a cancer misdiagnosis is still possible. After all, doctors are human, and they are still prone to mistakes, whether due to inexperience or negligence.
The Effect of A Misdiagnosis
A misdiagnosis can have a massive impact on your life. Likewise, false positives and false negatives have their respective consequences on the life of a person. But, whether it’s one or the other, the impact it can have on a person’s life is enough to be able to inflict some irreversible damage.
For instance, when one gets a diagnosis for a cancer that isn’t actually there, the experience can be harrowing. It can even be traumatic for some people. You can go through an entire wave of emotions and have a very heavy feeling just taking you over. It’s no easy task to come to terms with your mortality.
Aside from the emotional turmoil that a diagnosis could cause you, there’s also the effect of all the treatments you’ll have to undergo. Things like chemotherapy and radiation therapy can take their toll on the human body. These treatments have several systemic effects, from being unable to eat, constant nausea, and hair loss, among others. If you end up being treated for a cancer you might not have, your quality of life can change drastically.
When a person gets a false negative, things may go a little differently. They may not immediately get an emotionally traumatic experience, as they will live their life believing that they are healthy. But things will eventually catch up to them. They may start to feel the effects of the cancer soon enough. Be it through weight loss, aches and pains, and just feeling their body deteriorate, they’ll eventually realize that they weren’t as healthy as they thought.
By the time they realize that they actually did have cancer, it might already be too late to treat. They might already be at the end of the line or have to undergo treatments that are way more taxing on the body. Regret may also set in when they realize that this could have all been avoided if it was properly detected in the first place.
What Can You Do About It?
No matter what your misdiagnosis is, the effects it has on your life are just too grave to take lightly. There may have been some irreversible damage dealt, experiences that you were never meant to have, and situations that could have been avoided in the first place. While there are some things that you will never be able to get back, there is still a way to somehow compensate for these kinds of predicaments.
Instances of a cancer misdiagnosis are considered acts of medical malpractice, and these can be brought to court. Doctors have a certain standard of care that they are supposed to provide to all their patients. Should they ever carry out their duties below that standard, one has every right to demand compensation for any damages their substandard care has inflicted. So, you have every right to seek legal assistance to deal with this.
Firms such as the Serious Injury Law Group specialize in these types of cases. Their experience, coupled with the knowledge that experts in the medical field can provide, can help you iron out all the details. They can help you pinpoint what exactly went wrong during your course of treatment and then use it to build a strong case against those responsible for your misdiagnosis.
Aside from that, they can help you through the entire legal process. They can be there to represent you and also help make sure that things get resolved right away. These lawyers will do their best to fight for you and help you get the justice you deserve after what a doctor’s negligence has done. It might not give you everything you lost back, but it’s at least compensation that you deserve.
Getting a misdiagnosis, especially for cancer, is something that should never happen to a person. These types of things have the potential to ruin the life of a person and do things that can never be undone. While these things don’t happen to everyone, there are still unfortunate people to experience a misdiagnosis of that gravity. Fortunately, there is a way to go about it, with people who are willing to fight for you and fight against the negligence that led to that misdiagnosis.
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