Atlanta Cancer Medical Malpractice Lawyer
If a doctor fails to diagnose, misdiagnoses, or deviates from the standard of care you deserve, you could suffer as a result. If a doctor has done this to you and you are suffering from a serious illness like cancer, you need to consider holding them accountable with the help of a team of lawyers who use cutting edge technology in courtrooms. With the help of an Atlanta cancer medical malpractice lawyer, you could rest easy knowing that an attorney could work for you during this trying time.
What are the Most Common Signs of Cancer?
The most signs and symptoms of cancer are unexplained weight loss of 10 pounds or more, fever, fatigue, bone pain, skin changes, such as getting darker or yellowish, or persistent coughing. For certain types of cancers, blood in the stools or rectal bleeding can be symptoms.
After noticing the symptoms, a person should immediately consult his or her physician to determine whether or not he or she does have cancer and to get testing. Early detection and early treatment is exceptionally important for cancer.
Are There Other Illnesses with Similar Symptoms?
There are illnesses with similar symptoms. Peptic ulcers, acid reflux, and GERD mimic the signs and symptoms of stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, hemorrhoids, or Crohn’s disease. Tuberculosis could look similar to lung cancer.
Diagnosing These Symptoms and the Steps Medical Professionals Should Take
To diagnose these symptoms, the physician should take a history of the patients, figure out when they started experiencing their symptoms, how often they have the symptoms, what other types of symptoms they may have, and then perform a thorough physical examination focusing on the areas that seem to be problematic. Then the medical professional should perform follow-up test to determine whether or not the patient does have cancer or some other type of ominous disease. When a medical professional does not take the steps to give a victim the standard of care he or she deserves, this could constitute negligence. If a victim wishes to hold that medical professional accountable, he or she should reach out to an Atlanta cancer medical malpractice lawyer who could rely on the knowledge of an in-house doctor.
Tests for Cancer
There are four main kinds of tests that are performed to diagnose cancer. First are imaging tests, which basically takes pictures inside patients’ bodies so the doctors are able to look and see if they find cancer and see if it spreads. Examples of those would include bone scans, colonoscopies, CT scans, mammography, or MRIs. The second type of test that could be performed is a biopsy. In these tests, doctors remove the sample of tissue in patients’ bodies to test to see if it is cancerous. This could be done through lumbar punctures, where the needle is inserted into the spinal column.
Another type of test or lab test is a sample of a patient’s blood, urine, or other bodily fluids. Patients are examined for abnormal cells or tumor markers. For prostate cancer for men, there is a prostate-specific antigen test (PSA). The fourth kind of broad category of testing that is done is genetic or genomic testing which is where doctors determine the types of treatment that are best recommended for someone’s type of cancer.
Is Cancer Treatable?
There are many types of cancer treatment but cancer is certainly treatable, and again, the earlier the better. One type of treatment is to have surgery to remove cancer. Another treatment is radiation therapy where high levels of radiation are used to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. There is chemotherapy, where drugs are used to kill the cancer cells. Amino therapy is designed to help the immune system fight cancer. There is targeted therapy, which targets the changes in cancer cells, and hormone therapy, which could slow or stop the growth of certain cancers like breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Let an Atlanta Lawyer Handle The Case
You trust that your doctor gives you the time and care you need when you are exhibiting clear symptoms of cancer. When doctors ignore the standard of care they owe you, this could constitute negligence. The time you have lost that could have been spent fighting your illness cannot be recovered. However, you could hold that negligent medical professional accountable for his or her actions. With the help of an Atlanta cancer medical malpractice lawyer, you could do just that. Reach out to an attorney who could speak with you directly and who takes calls after hours. Call right now for your free case review.