Woodstown New Jersey Legal Blog

Ovarian cancer is sometimes referred to as a silent killer because many women are initially misdiagnosed or diagnosed too late. The symptoms of the disease in the early stages can be confused with the symptoms of less serious conditions by doctors and other health care professionals. People in New Jersey might gain from learning a few facts about ovarian cancer.

First, every woman is at some risk of developing ovarian cancer. One in 75 actually will, and those with a history of cancer are at an increased risk. There are lifestyle choices that may lower the risk. They include giving birth; using birth control; and implementing a low-fat, healthy diet. Tubal ligation operations and preventative ovary removal surgeries also lower the risk.

When New Jersey men develop prostate disease, their physicians will determine appropriate treatments based on the stage and progression of the cancer. A commonly-employed medical imagining tool is called the prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography. Although PSMA PET is very useful for measuring the stages of prostate cancer and metastases, researchers have identified shortcomings with the imaging procedure that could lead to a misdiagnosis.

The imaging targets the PSMA enzyme because it is strongly associated with the presence of prostate cancer cells. Problems arise when only using the PSMA PET because a high level of PSMA sometimes appears in benign cells. If a physician relies only on the results of PSMA PET, then an incorrect diagnosis of lymph node metastases could occur. When a physician wrongly believes that lymph node metastases are present, unnecessary changes in medical treatments could take place.

Incidental durotomy is a condition that anyone in New Jersey planning to undergo spinal surgery should learn about. It refers to the small tears that surgeons can unintentionally cause on the dura mater, the tough outer membrane of the spinal cord. These tears can usually be recognized and repaired during the surgery, leading to no long-term effects. However, if they remain unrecognized or reopen after surgery, complications will ensue.

A durotomy can form the basis for a medical malpractice claim. However, a study published in the journal Spine has shown that of the 48 cases of incidental durotomy that it analyzed, most ended in a ruling in favor of the surgeon. The patients' allegations included belated or improper treatments, delayed diagnoses and the need for additional surgery.

When people in New Jersey visit the doctor for ongoing health issues, they want to be able to trust in the physician's ability to provide an accurate diagnosis. When an incorrect diagnosis is made, valuable treatment time can be lost, and people can receive inappropriate medicines or other proposed solutions. If a progressive disease like cancer is involved, patients may even lose their lives due to a failure to diagnose the malignancy.

The risk of misdiagnosis may be particularly great with cancer, like that of the paranasal sinuses. The symptoms of paranasal cancer are similar to those of a number of less devastating illnesses and can include a stuffy nose, eye pain, post-nasal drip, nosebleeds or watery eyes. When a patient goes to the doctor, he or she will ask questions about the illness and check the nose and sinuses. The doctor should also check for pain, swelling and other symptoms in the face as well as nearby lymph nodes in the neck. A physician also can use a nasal endoscope in order to see inside the nasal passages.