No matter what type of cancer you have, it is important for your doctor to diagnose it properly, as soon as possible. When medical professionals make mistakes that result in a delayed diagnosis or a misdiagnosis, it can be fatal.
Remember, health officials claim that around 1.7 million new cancer cases cropped up in 2018, and that’s just in the United States. They also said that 609,640 people passed away from cancer that year. Both numbers are government estimates, but they certainly show the scope of the issue even if they are not completely accurate.
So, keeping in mind how dire the situation is, what are the most common types of cancer? In descending order, looking at the new cases every year, researchers list them out as:
- Breast cancer
- Lung and bronchus cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Colon and rectum cancer
- Melanoma of the skin
- Bladder cancer
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- Kidney and renal pelvis cancer
- Endometrial cancer
- Leukemia
- Pancreatic cancer
- Thyroid cancer
- Liver cancer
Any type of cancer, when not treated properly, can turn deadly. It is also important to note that cancer has the ability to spread, and many types can spread to other areas on the body. Delaying a diagnosis means that a singular type of treatable cancer could reach several different sites throughout the body, rendering it harder or even impossible to treat.
Did your doctor make a clear error and fail to diagnose your cancer when they should have? Are you worried that it was a fatal mistake, or did you lose a loved one to such an error? You need to know what legal options you have.