what recourse does a patient have if they have been fraudently diagnosed for cancer?
I have a brother that was told by a doctor that he had cancerous growth on one of his kidneys , the doctor showed him the growth on a computer , that was a image taken from a cat scan , he also gave him a cd with this image to take home . He went to another radologist and had another cat scan taken , he did not know he had a previous diagnosis of cancer . The cat scan did'nt show any growth on his kidney (kidneys) .This could have been a mistake or a poor image . At this point we don't know what options we have or should take .
Anonymous2008-01-14T01:35:26Z
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The first doctor did nothing fraudulent. You have no recourse and shouldn’t.
Yes, I am well aware that it may have caused you and your family a great deal of stress, worry and emotional distress, but MY recourse would be only to thank God (or the respective person you worship) thank you that it seems as though the cancer diagnosis was a mistake. Though, if i had the money, i would try to get a 2nd, 3rd or up to maybe a 5th opinion to make sure that i could really breath a sigh of relief and work on my new lease on life. Sadly many people do not get this chance after hearing initial diagnosis like what you got...I am happy you are ok..
Cancer is not a subject to be taken lightly . Since your brother is involved get a third opinion from an oncologist. and present him with the plates from the first doctor, showing a growth. The proper diagnosis is needed if only to set a person's mind to rest.
I'd get a new set of images done, and show them to a different doctor. If they confirm a misdiagnoses, I'm sure your brother would be well within his rights to sue the first Doctor for the cost of all the scans, extra medical visits and possibly some other out of pocket expenses. So long as the compensation your brother asks for is of a reasonable amount, itemise the costs etc (and don't turn it into a money making venture as some lawyers encourage people to do), I see no reason why he shouldn't get recompensed. Personally I'd have been extremely grateful if my cancer diagnoses was incorrect.
There are a number of reasons why the scans could have different results. I'd certainly wouldn't use the word fraud. As someone else said, just be thankful. However, I also agree it might not be a bad idea to have further studies to make sure the second one was the accurate one...and not the first.