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Mother

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 10:12 am
by CW101
My mother had a colonoscopy in 2015 that came back clean and a follow up letter from the doctor stated to not schedule another for 5-7 years. In late March she went into the hospital for a possible blood clot where they scanned her chest, found some spots by accident, then proceeded to find she had stage IV colon cancer that was so advanced that she only had a few days left. She passed the first week of April.

I've read the recommendations for colonoscopy intervals if one comes back clean and know they vary depending on family history, what is found in the first one, etc. Out of curiosity, would a letter from a doctor stating to not schedule another colonoscopy for 5-7 years be grounds for a possible malpractice suit when the patient dies 2 1/2 years later? It all feels so unfair.

Re: Mother

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 10:36 am
by susie0915
I'm not sure. When my cancer was diagnosed the surgeon told me it had probably been there 5 years. I had a colonoscopy 5 years before. He told me it probably started right after, or was too small to detect. Mine was only stage 2A rectal at that point after 5 years. Unless your mother's tumor was very aggressive, colon cancer is generally very slow growing. So I am not sure if it is grounds for lawsuit.

Re: Mother

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 11:38 am
by Caat55
CW101 wrote:My mother had a colonoscopy in 2015 that came back clean and a follow up letter from the doctor stated to not schedule another for 5-7 years. In late March she went into the hospital for a possible blood clot where they scanned her chest, found some spots by accident, then proceeded to find she had stage IV colon cancer that was so advanced that she only had a few days left. She passed the first week of April.

I've read the recommendations for colonoscopy intervals if one comes back clean and know they vary depending on family history, what is found in the first one, etc. Out of curiosity, would a letter from a doctor stating to not schedule another colonoscopy for 5-7 years be grounds for a possible malpractice suit when the patient dies 2 1/2 years later? It all feels so unfair.

My brother died of colon cancer, mistreated by physician at Kaiser. In California you can't file for malpractice after death of patient, wrongful death is the charge.

Re: Mother

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 12:11 pm
by peanut_8
Medical malpractice is a complicated matter, and subject to local and state laws. Your best bet would be to consult a local attorney experienced in such cases.

Best Wishes,
peanut

Re: Mother

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 10:34 pm
by Maggie Nell
CW101 wrote:My mother had a colonoscopy in 2015 that came back clean and a follow up letter from the doctor stated to not schedule another for 5-7 years. In late March she went into the hospital for a possible blood clot where they scanned her chest, found some spots by accident, then proceeded to find she had stage IV colon cancer that was so advanced that she only had a few days left. She passed the first week of April.

I've read the recommendations for colonoscopy intervals if one comes back clean and know they vary depending on family history, what is found in the first one, etc. Out of curiosity, would a letter from a doctor stating to not schedule another colonoscopy for 5-7 years be grounds for a possible malpractice suit when the patient dies 2 1/2 years later? It all feels so unfair.



Firstly, my condolences on the sudden and unexpected death of your mother this April.

It is unfair that you and other family were blindsided by the results of her chest scan and that you had so little time to wrap your heads around the severity of her condition. Naturally you are wondering what might have been missed with that colonoscopy of 2015 and I suggest you get the pathology report, which will detail the sites in the colon that were sampled, the clinic/hospital, the specialist doctor, the pathology company. There is a protocal for colon biopsies and determining if the standard protocols were followed is the first step.

[quote]The bow and arrow sign is an endoscopic sign for determining the location of the ileocecal valve during colonoscopy. Identifying the ileocecal valve in a colonoscopy is important, as it indicates that the entire colon has been visualized.[/quote]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_and_arrow_sign

The letter from your mother's doctor with the recommendation to schedule a colonoscopy in 5-7 years time will have been based on a pathology report from
a colonoscopy that was ASSUMED to have been thorough, that your mother's tissues were processed correctly in the laboratory: that if nine biopsies had
been taken then ALL nine tissues had been processed and examined (to use an example), and if special stains had been ordered by the pathologist, then
those special stains had been performed.

Whether or not there are grounds for litigation is secondary to the journey you need to take to understand how your mother went from No Evidence of Disease
in 2015 to being gone from your sight this April.

It is a heartbreaking turn of events.