Your Advocate When Gynecological Cancer Is Misdiagnosed

In the United States in 2007, 80,976 women were told that they had a gynecologic cancer, and 27,739 died from a gynecologic cancer. There are five main gynecologic cancers including cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal and vulvar.

Cervical cancer is a cancer that forms in tissues of the cervix (the organ connecting the uterus and vagina). It is usually a slow-growing cancer that may not have symptoms but can be found with regular Pap tests (a procedure in which cells are scraped from the cervix and looked at under a microscope).

Ovarian cancer is a cancer that forms in tissues of the ovary (one of a pair of reproductive glands in which eggs are formed. According to the American Cancer Society over 25, 000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year in the United States.

Uterine cancer is the most common cancer of a woman’s reproductive organs. Uterine cancer begins when normal cells in the uterus begin to change and grow uncontrollably, forming a mass called a tumor. A tumor can be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous, meaning it can spread to other parts of the body)

Vaginal cancer develops when malignant cancer cells form in the vagina. Vaginal cancer is not common and when found in early stages it is usually curable.

Vulvar cancer is a rare type of cancer. It forms in a woman’s external genitals, called the vulva. The cancer usually develops slowly over several years. First, precancerous cells grow on vulvar skin. This is called vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN), or dysplasia. In fact, not all VIN cases turn into cancer, but it is best to treat it early to insure timely prevention of the potential cancer.

Gynecological cancers, as noted above, can metastasize and spread before detection, making them difficult to treat. Early detection is critical. The lawyers at the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm look very carefully at all of the facts, missed symptoms and other factors.  Here are some important questions to examine:

• Was a Pap smear conducted properly and the test results read accurately?
• Was there a past medical history of human papilloma virus (HPV), which is well known to potentially lead to cervical or vulvar cancer?
• Was a pelvic exam performed and were signs of abnormalities missed?
• Was a colposcopy timely performed and pathology obtained for evaluation following an abnormal Pap smear?