Researchers and Doctors Struggle With Rare Cancer Issues

Among the most concerning diagnoses a patient could receive involves cancer. Thankfully, Connecticut offers many treatment facilities to help people dealing with the disease. However, the process can get really tricky if it’s a diagnosis for a rare form of cancer. While some cancers are more common among the population, others do not appear as frequently. So, patients may feel additional confusion and worry.

How Do Rare Cancers Cause Unexpected Problems?

Researchers put significant effort into studying rare diseases, including cancers. Researchers, unfortunately, do run into a problem when attempting to study rare tumors and cancers. If a limited number of patients get the condition, research data will be limited. Researchers won’t be able to review reports derived from clinical trials involving large groups. Instead, they must look at individual cases. Again, that limits the amount of available data for review.

People afflicted with rare cancers face many troubles. For one, locating a specialist may prove highly difficult. When a disease is rare, expect fewer medical professionals to possess expertise in treating it. The ripple effect here is fewer treatment choices exist for patients.

How Misdiagnosis Can Delay Proper Treatment

Another common problem is misdiagnosis. When a particular cancer is rare, a physician could misdiagnose it. That could potentially lead to the patient receiving improper care. Effective care could even suffer delays.

One positive trend involves focusing treatment on genetic mutations. Doing so may enhance care for someone with a rare cancer. And there are other positive things to point out. The growth of patient registries that might include self-reported information could provide researchers with material for analysis.

If you’ve had to deal with a doctor misdiagnosis, you may be able to file a medical malpractice claim. The attorney might file suit if your treatment included oversights, omissions and mistakes. An attorney may seek damages for additional care based on the malpractice. In extreme cases, the attorney could explore punitive damages.