Lymphoma Misdiagnosis Claims

Lymphoma (Non-Hodgkin’s and Hodgkin’s)

Patients tend to present with enlarged glands, which may be accompanied by weight loss, sweating and fever.  Where lymphoma is suspected GPs should refer the patient to a specialist oncology centre.  Investigations should include a blood count, renal and hepatic function tests, chest x-ray, bone marrow aspiration, trephine biopsy and a CT scan of the abdomen and chest.

Lymphoma misdiagnosis

Treatment of lymphoma depends on whether it is NHL or HL, the grading of the tumour and the number of lymph nodes involved.  Treatment is either radiotherapy or chemotherapy.  In HL bone marrow transplantation may also be offered.

To succeed in a medical negligence claim you need to prove that the delay affected the outcome. Usually this means you need to prove that during the delay the cancer progressed to a more advanced stage. Therefore, delays of a few months are unlikely to be enough. However if cancer is left, it is likely to grow and can spread to other parts of the body. Mistakes in diagnosing lymphoma can be very serious. Lymphoma misdiagnosis claims may be brought for:

• Failure to take an accurate history
• Failure to refer a patient to a specialist for further investigation
• Mistakes in interpreting the investigations
• Mistaken diagnosis of lymphoma