Uterine Cancer is on the Rise
Stacy Hernandez could have been one of the lucky few whose uterine cancer was diagnosed early. However, she spent more than a year going between her general practitioner and urgent care without a good answer as to why she continued to bleed beyond her monthly cycle. As it turned out, it was uterine cancer. Her story was featured in the Wall Street Journal in an article on the rise of uterine cancer, the only cancer where survival rates have fallen in the past four decades.
Uterine cancer, also called endometrial cancer, is on track to kill 13,250 women in the U.S. this year. Its rates have been increasing one percent annually over the last decade and uterine cancer is expected to surpass ovarian cancer as the deadliest gynecological cancer. The cancer, which was usually considered easy to treat, is now killing more women than ever. Delayed diagnosis can have a great impact, especially if the form of uterine cancer is more aggressive.
It's also affecting a broader spectrum of women, including those younger than 50. Black and Hispanic women are at greatest risk, with black women being twice as likely to die from a diagnosis than their white counterparts, according to the article. Reasons given included the fact that black women wait longer to see the doctor, and, when diagnosed, are less likely to get treatment that matches medical guidelines.
Abnormal bleeding is the most common warning sign of uterine cancer, but in Stacy Hernandez’s case, doctors passed it off as problems with her birth control medication and excess weight.
An illness can be life changing, especially when its seriousness is only discovered after a previous error in diagnosis. If you have been harmed by misdiagnosis or other type of medical malpractice in a Philadelphia ER or hospital, please contact us today to discuss your legal options. In the last few years, almost every teaching hospital in the city of Philadelphia has paid 8-figure verdicts and settlements to clients of Tom Duffy.