Doctors prefer to treat cancer as early as possible, but that does not mean they have no treatment options for late-stage cancer. They can sometimes offer various options to the patient. However, it is important to note that they may stop focusing on curing the disease.
For example, even when some types of cancer progress to the later stages, doctors believe that a cure is impossible. Therefore, they shift their focus. They begin working on relieving the symptoms that the patient has to deal with in order to make them more comfortable.
Doctors may also attempt to extend the person’s life, allowing them to survive longer than they would have without treatment. That should not be confused with attempting to save their life, however. They may be able to help someone with a six-month prognosis live for a year. However, they may know that they can’t completely eradicate this late-stage cancer.
This is simply one of the realities of modern cancer treatment options. A universal cure does not yet exist. Doctors take a different approach than they do with many other diseases.
This is also why early diagnosis is so important. If doctors can treat cancer in the early stages, they may still be able to successfully treat it. A misdiagnosis at the beginning, then, is more than an inconvenience. It can be a fatal mistake for the patient.
Unfortunately, this does happen. Doctors sometimes do make these critical mistakes. Those who suffer from them or the families of those who pass away need to know what legal options they have.