Delay in cancer diagnosis is not only associated with the doctor’s ignorance; various factors are associated with it. Sometimes, patients do not understand the symptoms, leading to ignorance and increased cancer. There might be issues with the screening or other reasons which can lead to delay in diagnosis. 

If you or your loved ones became diagnosed with cancer late and if this delay was due to ignorance or negligence of another person, you can file a case for medical malpractice in Syracuse. Various Syracuse delayed cancer diagnosis lawyers can help you in such cases and claim compensation if it is proven that the delay was due to the doctor’s negligence. 

Why is there a Delay in Cancer Diagnosis? 

Delays in cancer may create severe consequences for patients as early detection means early treatment and restricts cancer spreading. Several factors are associated with the delay in cancer diagnosis. Some of the essential reasons for the delay are as follows:

• Lack of screening: Screening tests are essential to understand any symptom of cancer, and when a patient cannot go through this screening process, diagnosis can be delayed. The patient must go through the screening process promptly, and if they are inaccessible, it creates another problem and ultimately leads to a delay in diagnosis. Screening helps to detect the cancer at the most treatable stage. 

• Symptom Recognition: If the patient and doctors cannot understand the symptom, it can delay diagnosis. This mainly happens when there is an unspecified type of cancer with no previous symptom history. So this creates a problem and leads to a delay in diagnosis. 

• Healthcare Access: If the patient does not have access to healthcare facilities, they can be deprived of the benefit of screening. They will also be deprived of the medical facilities and timely medical care. The patient may have difficulty obtaining referrals to specialists and primary medical care. 

• Diagnostic Delay: The diagnosis process is also very time-consuming as there are various imaging tests, consultations with multiple health professionals and other processes. This whole diagnosis will take time, and sometimes, this time-consuming process delays the diagnosis of cancer. 

• Misdiagnosis: Misdiagnosis is the factor which can be seen as the doctor’s negligence. In this factor, the symptoms are diagnosed as some other disease, and the cancer keeps spreading in the body. Therefore, this creates a severe problem for the patients. In this case, there is sometimes misdiagnosis due to a new type of cancer which cannot be diagnosed easily. 

So, these are specific reasons for delays in the diagnosis of cancer. However, even if there is a delay, you should start the treatment immediately.