Cancers with few symptoms can be difficult to diagnose

New York City residents may have access to some of the best medical professionals in the world, but even the best doctors can sometimes make mistakes. Some serious diseases, including some specific types of cancer, can be difficult to diagnose because they have few or no symptoms in the early stages when they are the most treatable.

Men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer or testicular cancer are often told that the disease has already progressed rather far. This is due to the general lack of symptoms of both of these types of cancer in earlier stages. Testicular cancer is usually treatable even in later stages, while prostate cancer is more serious if diagnosed late.

Pancreatic cancer diagnoses are sometimes missed because the disease has symptoms that are similar to the symptoms of other conditions like ulcers and pancreatitis. Some symptoms like nausea and vomiting could even be mistaken for a simple stomach virus or the flu. Unlike some cancers, pancreatic cancer cannot be diagnosed by any reliable test in someone who does not have symptoms.

Bladder cancer, which occurs more often in men than in women and usually in older adults, gets overlooked because it is not much discussed. Blood in the urine is the most common sign of bladder cancer, and having a family history of the disease increases the risk.

Colon cancer is somewhat common, being the third leading cancer in men. The most common and noticeable symptom is blood in the stool, but often there are no symptoms in the early stages of the disease. A colonoscopy is recommended by the age of 50, even if there is no family history.

When a doctor makes a mistake in testing for a disease, a delayed diagnosis or a misdiagnosis could be the result, leading to significant harm to the patient. An attorney can determine if the mistake constituted malpractice through a review of the evidence and the opinions of medical experts.