Guide to Common Misdiagnosis Cases: Cervical Cancer
Posted: Monday, July 19, 2010
by Steven Schafer
Steven H. Schafer & Associates
Cervical cancer affects the cervix, which is the lower part of the uterus connecting to the vagina. It's caused by certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV), which is transmitted by skin to skin sexual activity. Abnormal cells can develop on the lining of the cervix following exposure to HPV. Many people, both women and men, have HPV and don't know it.
While a Pap test is typically administered by your primary care physician or gynecologist, the test is usually read by technician (known as a cyrotechnologist) at a laboratory. The technicians are not medical doctors and they have a large volume of tests to read. This leads to misreadings at an alarmingly high rate. The American Medical Association estimates that up to 30 percent of Pap tests are misread.
Unfortunately, this means many women have no idea they are at risk for developing cervical cancer, or, worse, already have cervical cancer. Further compounding the problem is that cervical cancer is not associated with any particular symptoms until the cancer has progressed into more serious stages.
If a Pap test is positive for abnormal cells, a follow up Pap test should be done within a few months, or other tests should be administered. For example, your doctor can perform a colposcopy, which allows him or her to examine the surface of the cervix with binocular-like magnification. If the doctor detects an abnormal area, then he or she should perform a biopsy. A biopsy removes tissue for microscopic examination and analysis.
These relatively simple, inexpensive procedures will likely detect the pre-cancer or cancer at the earliest stages with an almost 100 percent chance of recovery. But cervical cancer may needlessly go undetected if a doctor and technician misread Pap tests, or the doctor fails to do follow up procedures, of if the doctor fails to ask for, or misinterprets, or ignores important information about a patient's medical history, or about a patient's present symptoms or stated problems.
Cervical cancer grows slowly and there is absolutely no reason for a doctor to fail to diagnose the cancer or pre-cancerous stage long before the disease has spread to other areas of the body. If any of these missteps have occurred, the doctor may have committed medical malpractice.
If you or loved one or family friend has cervical cancer or a pre-cancerous condition in the cervix, I am available to discuss whether the treating doctor acted appropriately in prior examinations, or did all the he or she could to detect the possibility of cervical cancer. Call me directly at (617) 423-2447. Massachusetts Medical Malpractice Attorney
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