Doctors, physician’s assistants, and nurse practitioners are all professionally obligated to order the appropriate tests to diagnose potentially fatal conditions like cancer in a timely way. In Doctors Kept Dismissing My Back Pain—Until I Was Finally Diagnosed With Terminal Cancer, Tori Geib shared her story on www.health.com. In 2016 Geib visited three rheumatologists about her back pain. They informed her that her condition was potentially caused by fibromyalgia and that she was suffering from depression. Antidepressants were prescribed.
When the pain continued, Geib sought relief at two urgent care facilities. She was given a steroid, anti-inflammatory medication, and a low-dose muscle relaxer. When she later found a lump on her side, doctors at Ohio State University ordered a mammogram and biopsy. She was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. A CT scan showed that cancer had possibly gone into her spine.
When Geib reviewed her medical records from the rheumatologists, she found that they indicated “suspicious lesions” in her spine and hip bone. The rheumatologists did not alert her to their findings or follow up with her. Geib states:
Once the cancer spread to my spine, it crushed one of my vertebrae, reducing its size by 70%. I needed a procedure called a vertebroplasty to plump it back up before I could undergo breast cancer treatment. If the cancer had been identified when the scan revealed spinal lesions, my vertebra would not be in such poor condition—and I could have started treating the breast cancer earlier.
Geib will be on treatment for the remainder of her life. She had to quit her job and go on disability because of her bone metastases.
A cancer misdiagnosis lawsuit may be filed when a physician fails to order timely screenings, uses outdated tools and procedures, or fails to diagnose cancer. In Geib’s case, the misdiagnosis was made by rheumatologists. Please contact Elite Medical Experts to secure a board-certified rheumatology expert witness as well as top-tier university medical expert witnesses in other practice areas.
