Medical and government campaigns to improve the diagnosis of ovarian cancer mean that sufferers should get treated as soon as possible. Even though only one or two in every thousand women will get ovarian cancer, making it a relatively rare form of the disease, still medical negligence means that some women will be misdiagnosed or diagnosed too late to survive.
An investigation carried out by the Medical Defence Union has revealed that, over the last nine years, there have been 209 cases of alleged delays in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Of these complaints, 84% were misdiagnosed with anaemia, diverticulitis or irritable bowel syndrome. Eight cases of the 71 made against doctors have already resulted in payouts of between 9,000 and 550,000 each.
6,500 women develop ovarian cancer each year in the UK, with 4,000 of these women dieing from the disease. Dr Rachel Sutcliffe, a medico-legal advisor from the MDU, states that early diagnosis is crucial to surviving the disease. However, she also admits that vague descriptions of symptoms given by the patient, lack of family cancer history information and the fact ovarian cancer is so hard to diagnose all contribute to missed diagnoses of the disease.
For 2012, the government have provided the Ovarian Cancer Action charity with funding of 450 million for an awareness campaign that has been created to help reduce the number of deaths caused by the disease. Their main aim is to inform women of the differences between ovarian cancer and getting old as many of the symptoms can be similar. They are also providing GPs with extra information and training regarding ovarian cancer.
Women are being encouraged to keep a diary of their symptoms and to see their GP as soon as possible if they are suffering from any of the following; persistent pelvic and stomach pain, persistent bloating (continuous, not on and off), increased abdominal size, difficulty eating and feeling fuller quicker.
An investigation carried out by the Medical Defence Union has revealed that, over the last nine years, there have been 209 cases of alleged delays in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Of these complaints, 84% were misdiagnosed with anaemia, diverticulitis or irritable bowel syndrome. Eight cases of the 71 made against doctors have already resulted in payouts of between 9,000 and 550,000 each.
6,500 women develop ovarian cancer each year in the UK, with 4,000 of these women dieing from the disease. Dr Rachel Sutcliffe, a medico-legal advisor from the MDU, states that early diagnosis is crucial to surviving the disease. However, she also admits that vague descriptions of symptoms given by the patient, lack of family cancer history information and the fact ovarian cancer is so hard to diagnose all contribute to missed diagnoses of the disease.
For 2012, the government have provided the Ovarian Cancer Action charity with funding of 450 million for an awareness campaign that has been created to help reduce the number of deaths caused by the disease. Their main aim is to inform women of the differences between ovarian cancer and getting old as many of the symptoms can be similar. They are also providing GPs with extra information and training regarding ovarian cancer.
Women are being encouraged to keep a diary of their symptoms and to see their GP as soon as possible if they are suffering from any of the following; persistent pelvic and stomach pain, persistent bloating (continuous, not on and off), increased abdominal size, difficulty eating and feeling fuller quicker.
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