As with most medical treatments, the treatment of cancer is more likely to be successful if the disease is identified early. For people in New Mexico with some rare types of cancer, though, misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose can cause delays in treatment and allow the disease to develop further than it otherwise might have. In some cases, the misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose may give rise to legal claims for recovery against doctors, hospitals or other medical professionals and organizations.
Tonsil cancer is one type that may be prone to misdiagnosis. Some people who have tonsil cancer do not notice anything is wrong until the illness begins to spread. Symptoms of tonsil cancer may include a long-lasting sore throat, white or red patches on the tonsils, difficulty with swallowing or chewing, sores on the back of the throat, persistent earaches, weight loss or blood in the person’s saliva. Smoking, drinking or being infected with human papillomavirus increases the risk of developing tonsil cancer.
Treatments for tonsil cancer may include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or targeted therapy. With surgical options, the surgeon will typically remove the cancerous and precancerous cells and tumors. This may require removing the tonsils. Radiation therapy can be used to shrink a cancerous tumor. Chemotherapy uses strong medications to slow the spread of cancerous cells, kill them or shrink tumors. Failure to diagnose the disease accurately can cause irreparable harm to the patient.
People in New Mexico who believe they have suffered harm due to the misdiagnosis failure to diagnose/misdiagnosis may want to meet with an attorney. An attorney who has experience handling medical malpractice cases might be able to help by conducting interviews or depositions to gather evidence. The attorney might also subpoena documentary evidence to build a medical malpractice case on behalf of the client. Many cases are settled out of court.
