Pennsylvania Sarcoma Misdiagnosis Lawyers
Sarcoma is a rare cancer in adults and constitutes 1 percent of all adult cancers. Childhood sarcoma is more prevalent than sarcoma in adults and constitutes about 20 percent of all childhood cancers. Sarcoma is made up of many "subtypes" because it can arise from a variety of tissue structures such as nerves, muscles, joints, bones and blood vessels.
Because these tissues are found all over the human body, sarcomas can occur anywhere in the body. But they most frequently occur in the limbs because this is where the majority of the body’s connective tissue is found.
The problem with sarcomas is that they are often hidden deep inside the body. So, by the time they are diagnosed, they have gotten too large to cure. However, the most common symptom that must not be ignored with sarcomas is lumps and bumps on different parts of the body. These lumps may be benign or may be a symptom of sarcoma, but they must not be ignored by your doctor. When detected at an early stage there is definitely more hope for a cure.
Sarcoma is curable by surgery 20 percent of the time and by a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation 30 percent of the time. About 50 percent of the time, they are resistant to all of these approaches. In such cases, there may be a need for new therapeutic approaches. At any given time, about 50,000 patients and their families are struggling with sarcoma in the United States. About 10,000 new cases of sarcoma are diagnosed each year and every year, about 5,000 people die of sarcoma in the United States.
Diagnosis, once again, is the key to successfully combat sarcoma. The only reliable way to determine whether a tumor is benign or malignant is through a surgical biopsy. So, all soft tissue and bone lumps that grow or persist must be biopsied. During this procedure, a doctor makes an incision or uses a special needle to remove a sample of tumor tissue. A pathologist then examines the tissue under a microscope. If cancer is detected, then the pathologist can usually determine what type of cancer it is and the grade of cancer. The grade of a tumor is determined by how the cells appear under a microscope. A low-grade sarcoma, for example, is unlikely to spread to the rest of the body. High-grade sarcomas are more likely to spread or metastasize to other parts of the body.
If your doctor fails to detect the symptoms of sarcoma and if you have suffered irreparable loss because of your doctor’s failure to diagnose or treat the cancer, then you may be entitled to file a PA medical malpractice claim. You may be eligible for significant compensation to cover medical and other related costs. If you have lost a child or a grandchild as a result of failure to diagnose sarcoma symptoms,