Physician Fails to Diagnose Aggressive Cancer

Case Overview

This case takes place in New York and involves a failure to timely diagnose cancer despite unresolved symptoms of abdominal pain and significant weight loss prior to diagnosis. The patient first presented to the defendant physician as a healthy, active female – she was a non-smoker who did not drink and had very minimal past medical history. She presented with complaints of pain and weight loss to the defendant physician, who continued to treat the patient when her cancer was finally identified. Dozens of visits occurred during this period and various indications in the patient’s chart indicated that a more thorough workup was warranted. By the time her cancer was discovered it had a significant diameter and the patient’s treating oncological surgeon informed her that it had been growing for several years.