Earlier Diagnosis of Colorectal and Kidney Cancers

Cancer is a condition whereby cells grow and reproduce in a specific part of the body.

These cells grow uncontrollably and take over and destroy tissues and organs nearby. Like with all conditions, the earlier the diagnosis is made, the better the chances are of improvement and survival.

Cancer is usually diagnosed on a grading system. There are four grades of cancer, 1 being the lowest and 4 being the highest. If cancer is diagnosed at grade 1, the chances of curing the cancer will be higher than if it was to be diagnosed at grade 4.

The Office for National Statistics states that “colorectal and kidney cancer patients would see the greatest increase in their chances of survival if they were diagnosed at an earlier stage”. They continue to state that “cancer patients with colorectal cancer have an overall net-survival of 59.1% for the 5 years following diagnosis. At stage 1 this is 93.4%. For patients with kidney cancer, overall net-survival is 63.3%, compared with 88.9% at stage 1.

Some symptoms, such as a simple cough can be a symptom of cancer, but of course this may be difficult to diagnose, as a cough can also be a symptom of a number of different illnesses. Alongside this, sometimes cancer symptoms are not diagnosable until the cancer is at a progressed stage, again making earlier diagnosis difficult, although it is imperative that cancer is ruled out from an early stage.

Bowel cancer generally begins in the large bowel. Symptoms of this type of cancer are persistent blood in your stools, persistent change in your bowel habit and persistent lower abdominal pain, bloating or discomfort. Some of these symptoms can easily be diagnosed as other conditions such as piles or something you have eaten.

Kidney cancer, is the most common type of cancer in the UK and there are several types of this cancer. The symptoms of kidney cancer is blood in your urine, persistent pain in your lower back or sides or a lump or swelling in your side.

The treatments for cancer are usually, radiotherapy, chemotherapy or surgery.

Clinical Negligence claims can be brought for:

• Delay in diagnosing cancer;
• Failure in diagnosing Cauda Equina Syndrome;

If you have experienced the above, you may have a claim for clinical negligence. Our Clinical Negligence team deal with misdiagnosis and failure in diagnosis claims and can assist you in bringing a claim to get the closure and compensation you deserve.