The Importance of Early Detection in Lung Cancer Survival
Posted on in Medical Negligence
This lung cancer awareness month marks an appropriate time to highlight important facts and raise awareness about this devastating disease.
We at Tozers have been supporting individuals who have experienced substandard treatment in respect of their cancer diagnosis/management for years. We are fully aware of how overwhelming a diagnosis of cancer can be and are proud to support this awareness month.
We have considered some frequently asked questions and provided the answers below.
What is lung cancer?
- It’s a cancer that is found in one or both of the lungs
- It is the 3rd most common cancer in the UK
Common symptoms of lung cancer may include:
- A cough that is not going away
- Shortness of breath
- Coughing up blood
- Chest or Shoulder pain
- Regular chest infections or a chest infection that does not get better
- Unexplained weight loss
- Loss of appetite
- A feeling of tiredness all the time
- Lung cancer survival has increased in the last 50 years in the UK.
- Early diagnosis is key to improving outcomes and can make a big difference to a person’s chance of survival.
How is lung cancer diagnosed?
If you experience any of the symptoms above, then these should be reported to your General Practitioner, who will take the relevant history and perform an examination (if required). If necessary, they will refer you for further testing and investigations, with the main tests for lung cancer being a CT scan and bronchoscopy.
What do the different stages of lung cancer mean?
If you are diagnosed with lung cancer, it is likely it will be staged with the TNM system (Tumour, Node and Metastasis). This will indicate how big the cancer is and how far it has spread.
In its most simplified form, the TNM is broken down as follows:
T (Tumour) describes the size of the tumour
N (Nodes) describes whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes
M (Metastasis) describes whether the cancer has spread to a different part of the body
Number staging uses the TNM system to divide cancers into stages. There are 4 stages (stage I – IV) with stage I being an early, localised stage with the cancer being relatively small, and stage IV being the most advanced stage and known as metastatic or advanced lung cancer.
Cancer Research UK highlighted that in England between 2016 and 2020 the survival rates were as follows:
Stage I – almost 65% survived their cancer for 5 years or more
Stage II – around 40% survived their cancer for 5 years or more
Stage II – around 15% survived their cancer for 5 years or more
Stage IV – around 5% survived their cancer for 5 years or more
What can a legal claim achieve?
As highlighted last year, Tozers’ client, KR, suffered an avoidable delay in the diagnosis of her lung cancer and, sadly, by the time the cancer was identified, this was incurable. Without the unavoidable delay in diagnosis, KR’s quality of life would have been much improved and her cancer would have been curable. Understandably, this was devastating for her and her family.
In this case, KR had done everything right and reported her symptoms to medical professionals, but sadly, her care was not followed up as it should have been. This highlights that even when treatment is sought, treatment providers may on occasion misdiagnose conditions or delay a necessary investigation, which might otherwise have led to an earlier diagnosis and therefore, more timely treatment.
Although a legal claim cannot turn back the clock, it can help to provide more options, protect your family’s future and ease financial pressures.
What a legal claim can achieve was concisely detailed by KR last year when she stated:
“My family encouraged me to take legal action, hoping that making them realise the mistakes they made in diagnosing me would make them change things, so others wouldn’t have to go through what we are and give them a chance”.
“The difference a legal claim has made to me is I can die knowing I have been able to continue to help my family”.
How Tozers can help
If you or a family member are concerned about a delay in diagnosis or treatment, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our experienced and knowledgeable team who can provide legal support and guidance.