Bowel Cancer Awareness Month: why early diagnosis matters

This April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, which reminds us to raise awareness of common signs and symptoms to look out for, for the best chance of diagnosing bowel cancer early. Not everyone that experiences these symptoms will have cancer, but Bowel Cancer UK says that the earlier cancer is diagnosed, the more treatable it is likely to be.

Symptoms can include: 1. Changes in your bowel habits which can include having softer poo, constipation, and diarrhoea if this is not normal for you. 2. Changes in the frequency of your bowel movements, which can mean needing to go to the toilet more or less often than is normal for you. 3. Blood in your poo which can be black or red in colour. 4. Stomach ache. 5. A lump in your tummy. 6. Bloating. 7. Bleeding from your bottom. 8. Losing weight for no obvious reason. 9. Feeling very tired for no obvious reason. 10. Feeling like you need to poo, even if you have been to the toilet very recently.

If you are worried about anything out of the ordinary, or any of the signs or symptoms above, you should go to your GP, even if you only have one of these symptoms.

A delay in diagnosis, or a misdiagnosis, can significantly affect the survivability of bowel cancer. Bowel Cancer UK states that ‘more than 9 in 10 people survive bowel cancer when it is diagnosed at the earliest stage. However, this drops significantly when diagnosed at the latest stage’†. When diagnosed at stage one, most people will survive cancer for 5 years or more after their diagnosis. In comparison, when diagnosed at stage 4, only around 10% of people will survive 5 or more years after their diagnosis.

If cancer is misdiagnosed or if someone suffers an avoidable delay in the diagnosis of cancer which reduces their life expectancy, compensation can be sought for the patient or their loved ones. This would be to help with things such as the costs of future care which would have otherwise been avoidable if the cancer had been spotted by the medical professionals sooner.

How Co-op Legal Services can help you

If you feel that you, or a member of your family, suffered a misdiagnosis or a delay in diagnosis of cancer then please call our medical negligence solicitors on 033 3060 2800 for free legal advice; if only to put your mind at rest. A specialist at Co-op Legal Services will listen to the information you provide and assess whether you can make a claim, or give you initial legal advice, free of charge.

For every medical negligence claim that agree to take on, a specialist medical negligence solicitor will investigate the standard of care provided to you by reviewing your medical records and, if necessary, obtaining advice from an independent GP or oncologist. If our investigation concludes that a mistake has caused an avoidable injury or outcome, then your medical negligence solicitor will share their findings with NHS Resolution - the NHS Authority that manages compensation claims on behalf of the NHS.

If NHS Resolution agrees that the care provided had fallen below a reasonable standard, then we will work with NHS Resolution to agree the effect of the delay or misdiagnosis on the patient’s eventual outcome and the appropriate amount of compensation to be awarded. If the NHS deny fault for the negligence, a medical negligence solicitor can start litigation to secure compensation for the patient’s rehabilitation support, future care needs, and potential loss of earnings. Most of our claims settle out of court.

If your medical negligence claim is unsuccessful, there is no financial risk to you. Your legal fees will be covered (subject to you entering into and complying with the terms of a ‘No Win No Fee’ agreement, as well as taking out and complying with the terms of an ‘After the Event’ insurance policy where appropriate).

The cancer negligence case below (not dealt with by Co-op Legal Services but reported in a legal database‡) demonstrates how Medical Negligence Solicitors can work to secure compensation and rehabilitation support.

Case study: delay in cancer diagnosis claim

In this case, there was a failure to diagnose cancer between April 2003 and February 2005. The claimant visited their GP with lower back pain, renal pain, and blood in her poo. Despite returning to her GP between 2003 and 2005 and being treated with medicines such as Gaviscon, it was not until February 2005 that her GP referred her to hospital. She was diagnosed with grade 3 cancer with areas of Grade 2 and grade 1 cancer.

After this, the claimant required care and assistance from family members to help her to go to the toilet, bathing, dressing, feeding, and even with walking. The side effects of her treatment also meant that she became very ill and needed care and assistance 24 hours per day. The claimant sadly passed away as a result of the cancer and the claimant’s family alleged that if she had been properly assessed by the GP and referred on the urgent two-week cancer pathway in April 2003, she would have been diagnosed with cancer a lot sooner and that the cancer would not have spread.

Her family was awarded compensation for her injuries, and to provide for the care and assistance that she needed until she died. The compensation also made provision for her family in the future. Her injuries amounted to £70,563.22 at today’s value, and the total compensation awarded was £125,256.44.

† Bowel Cancer Awareness Month | Bowel Cancer UK

‡ Case reported in the Personal Injuries Quantum Database of LexisNexis (QD3550)