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Woman told cancer and 15 months to live. Two rounds of chemo, then whoops! Oh, you don't have cancer...

Chock Full o Nuts

Chock Full o Nuts

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Chock Full o Nuts said:
www.ksla.com

Woman says doctors misdiagnosed her with cancer after undergoing weeks of chemotherapy

A woman is sharing her life-changing experience after she says she was misdiagnosed with cancer.
www.ksla.com www.ksla.com

Well, I guess that's good news. But I expect a nice little check for what you just put me through mentally and physically.
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I think we all need to acknowledge that medicine in the U.S. is in some ways broken. I've recently dealt with serious illnesses of both of my inlaws. My father in law went in with a sore 'back' and they diagnosed rest. Turns out (5 months later) that it was bone cancer and it killed him. Could it have been treated? We will never know and the care he received with cancer was awful, frankly. We had to repeatedly DEMAND stuff that should have been routinely provided.

My mother in law had a sore hip. They attributed it to a nerve, gave her multiple pain/steroid shots, and recommended surgery on the nerve. We got a second opinion, from a specialist, and in 2 minutes the nurse doing the initial intake realized it could not possibly BE what the surgeon had her on the schedule to operate. They referred us to orthopedic, he took an x-ray, and the ball of her femur looked like rats had chewed it. Previous orthopedic didn't even order an x-ray of her hip. I could keep going, but at every turn without us as advocates I fear what would have happened to them both. I KNOW they'd have gotten inferior care, and what they did get was in fact borderline malpractice.

Anyway, I'm almost not surprised at the OP. And the bottom line is that stuff we always hear about 'get a second opinion' - DO IT.
 
Yep, second opinion always. I was told I had cancer before, ended up not being. I wen't for a second opinion.
It even has happened to my animals. Sadly, the other way around, no problem, but died from the cancer they didn't catch.

Always get second, even third if it's serious. If they tell you it's fine, and you feel it isn't, second opinion. Medical malpractice is a leading killer in America.
 
I survived stage 3 level 4 cancer in the mid 90's. I was misdiagnosed for over a year. I'm not complaining, and I'll tell you why.

When you hear the term "practicing medicine, or practicing law" there is a reason for that.

Neither one is an exact science. The best any of us can hope for is that our "practitioner" is the right one and knows what they're doing.

I would rather undergo chemo unnecessarily, than die of cancer undiagnosed.

Every day, research doctor/scientists find ways to improve on current care. Nothing in life is perfect, but there are humans among us who never stop trying, and there are those of us who are eternally grateful to them.
 
I was dx'd with cancer but I prayed, as did many for me, and all traces of the disease vanished about five years ago. I do believe in miracles.
 
Bodecea said:
Two rounds. Meh....it isn't until the 3rd it really starts messing with you.
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Not always. I lost 99% of my hair exactly 11 days after my first round of chemo. Including eyelashes and eyebrows. There are many types of chemo; it's all poison designed to kill cancer cells. There are tradeoffs. 30 years later, I have a pacemaker and severe heart failure because of the chemo drugs.

Without them, there would be no 30 years later.
 
trixare4kids said:
I was dx'd with cancer but I prayed, as did many for me, and all traces of the disease vanished about five years ago. I do believe in miracles.
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You didn't receive any treatment other than prayer? You had a 2nd opinion or tests confirming the diagnosis?
 
Argent said:
You didn't receive any treatment other than prayer? You had a 2nd opinion or tests confirming the diagnosis?
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No treatment was necessary at the point of diagnosis. I had two oncologists give me the same diagnosis.
 
Jessie C said:
When you hear the term "practicing medicine, or practicing law" there is a reason for that.
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Broadly speaking, medicine has become more about profit than providing excellent care. Physicians in groups/practices typically spend 8-10 minutes with patients because they're under pressure to see a certain number per hour. Surgeries are encouraged because they're profitable. We just endured a scandal in my town where a doctor was caught performing unnecessary surgeries to the tune of an extra 2 million dollars in his paycheck last year. The hospital was aware and turned a blind eye until other staffers got angry enough about it to take it public after getting nowhere with hospital administration. One of those employees is suing the hospital for wrongful discharge because he was fired for bringing the issue up to admin. The lawsuits from patients who had unnecessary surgery are numerous.

This is the same hospital with even more lawsuits stemming from a nurse who substituted tap water for fentanyl in patients IVs either because she was addicted or selling it. The reasons haven't yet become clear. Health care in general in the US has been in decline for at least the past decade.
 
Jessie C said:
Not always. I lost 99% of my hair exactly 11 days after my first round of chemo. Including eyelashes and eyebrows. There are many types of chemo; it's all poison designed to kill cancer cells. There are tradeoffs. 30 years later, I have a pacemaker and severe heart failure because of the chemo drugs.

Without them, there would be no 30 years later.
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You are right...not all the same. I did 9 infusion rounds and then the pills...thin hair and neuropathy on hands and feet.
 
Argent said:
Broadly speaking, medicine has become more about profit than providing excellent care. Physicians in groups/practices typically spend 8-10 minutes with patients because they're under pressure to see a certain number per hour. Surgeries are encouraged because they're profitable. We just endured a scandal in my town where a doctor was caught performing unnecessary surgeries to the tune of an extra 2 million dollars in his paycheck last year. The hospital was aware and turned a blind eye until other staffers got angry enough about it to take it public after getting nowhere with hospital administration. One of those employees is suing the hospital for wrongful discharge because he was fired for bringing the issue up to admin. The lawsuits from patients who had unnecessary surgery are numerous.

This is the same hospital with even more lawsuits stemming from a nurse who substituted tap water for fentanyl in patients IVs either because she was addicted or selling it. The reasons haven't yet become clear. Health care in general in the US has been in decline for at least the past decade.
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99% of people who choose to practice medicine do it for the right reasons. I hope the day never comes when you need one of these professionls.
 
Jessie C said:
I survived stage 3 level 4 cancer in the mid 90's. I was misdiagnosed for over a year. I'm not complaining, and I'll tell you why.

When you hear the term "practicing medicine, or practicing law" there is a reason for that.

Neither one is an exact science. The best any of us can hope for is that our "practitioner" is the right one and knows what they're doing.

I would rather undergo chemo unnecessarily, than die of cancer undiagnosed.

Every day, research doctor/scientists find ways to improve on current care. Nothing in life is perfect, but there are humans among us who never stop trying, and there are those of us who are eternally grateful to them.
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Well said.

And congrats on your extended remission
 
Jessie C said:
99% of people who choose to practice medicine do it for the right reasons. I hope the day never comes when you need one of these professionls.
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I totally agree but they are not always able to control or choose how they practice depending on where they work and that is the challenge many medical professionals face which is a factor in why the AMA is concerned about increasing physician shortages.
 
Diagnosing cancer is more of an art than a science sometimes. Different diagnosticians, and even experts, can disagree about which cancer they think there is, what stage, etc. It happens. It's not a precise thing. Some misses are more obvious of course. Others are due to complexities of the diagnosis.

Of course if someone is giving them sample that missed the cancer completely (biopsy that cut out the wrong spot), they won't be able to find it - collecting proper sample is very important.
 
Jessie C said:
Not always. I lost 99% of my hair exactly 11 days after my first round of chemo. Including eyelashes and eyebrows. There are many types of chemo; it's all poison designed to kill cancer cells. There are tradeoffs. 30 years later, I have a pacemaker and severe heart failure because of the chemo drugs.

Without them, there would be no 30 years later.
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We're very glad you're here. :)
 
trixare4kids said:
I was dx'd with cancer but I prayed, as did many for me, and all traces of the disease vanished about five years ago. I do believe in miracles.
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You got lucky with a false positive diagnosis. But I'm happy for you in any case.
 
Medicine not being an exact science, hence calling it 'practicing' medicine.
 
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