Bladder Cancer Misdiagnosis

Unfortunately, bladder cancer is very common. More men experience it than do women. Usually it starts in the cells that line the bladder, an organ that stores urine and is located in the lower abdomen. Bladder cancer can also exist in other portions of the body's system that drains urine. If you have suffered harm due to a doctor's bladder cancer misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose you may be able to recover damages. A knowledgeable Syracuse medical malpractice attorney can help you assert your rights.

The bladder is a hollow organ in the lower abdomen. It holds urine. Bladder cancer happens when the cells inside the bladder (or elsewhere in the urinary drainage system) start to grow out of control. Most bladder cancer is highly treatable if caught, diagnosed, and treated at an early-stage. Sometimes it recurs, which means that those diagnosed with bladder cancer must receive follow up tests for many years after being treated to determine if there is a recurrence.

Signs and symptoms of bladder cancer that may necessitate testing include painful urination, blood in the urine, and pain in the pelvis. A microscopic exam of urine can result in a detection of blood. Other signs of bladder cancer can include back pain and needing to urinate frequently. Sometimes, if these are the only signs, a doctor may assume they are the result of another condition. It is important that a proper differential diagnosis and appropriate testing be done.

Early diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer is critical. The earlier it is caught, the more likely the prognosis will be favorable. Generally there is a greater survival rate for bladder cancer that has only penetrated a single layer of tissue below the surface, as opposed to when bladder cancer has penetrated into an underlying bladder muscle.

The first stage of bladder cancer involves cancer cells that have grown in the lining of the bladder. Next cancer cells grow into connective tissue. After that they grow into the muscle layer of the wall of the bladder. They then spread beyond the bladder. Once cancer cells spread into other areas, it is Stage IV cancer and it becomes very difficult to treat.

A doctor faced with signs and symptoms of bladder cancer should conduct a differential diagnosis and evaluate the possible diagnoses, including bladder cancer. Bladder cancer is established through a cystoscopy. This is a way you get tissue to do a biopsy. Other diagnostic techniques include imaging tests such as retrograde pyelograms, CT scans, intravenous pyelograms, MRIs, and ultrasound. The imaging test can also be used along with a biopsy to determine whether a patient has bladder cancer that has spread to the lungs, bones, or other parts of the body.

In order to hold a general practitioner or oncologist liable for medical malpractice in their failure to diagnose bladder cancer, you will need to prove the following elements: (1) a doctor-patient relationship, (2) breach of a professional duty of care, (3) actual and proximate causation, and (4) actual damages. A skilled medical negligence lawyer can help you determine if the facts of your case will fulfill these elements. You will also need to retain a doctor to give expert opinions about what the professional standard of care was given a particular set of circumstances, and whether it was breached. The expert will also have to be able to say there was a breach of the professional duty of care and that it caused the harms you suffered. Often, defendants argue that the harm would have occurred anyway, and if they are successful in making that argument, you likely will not be able to recover damages for the misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose.

DeFrancisco & Falgiatano represents patients who have been harmed as a result of a health care provider's bladder cancer misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose in Syracuse or Rochester. Our lawyers also handle cases in Elmira, Binghamton, Ithaca, Auburn, Norwich, Herkimer, Delhi, Cortland, Lowville, Oneida, Watertown, Oswego, Utica, Wampsville, Canandaigua, Cooperstown, and Lyons. Please call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form to get started.