Cervical Cancer Claims

Prognosis for this type of cancer if diagnosed early is usually good. However, where delays occur, this can have a significant impact.

There is a national programme of three yearly smear tests for women over 25 to check for cell abnormalities which can be an indicator of cervical cancer risk. However, if smear tests are wrongly interpreted then this can lead to cell changes being missed which may develop into cervical cancer. If a smear test returns unusual results then further tests may be needed. These may include a colonoscopy, CT or MRI scan. It is vital that all test results are correctly interpreted to avoid errors in diagnosis.

Symptoms of cervical cancer can include bleeding between cycles, bleeding and pain related to intercourse and unusual discharge. Sometimes these symptoms are misdiagnosed, for example, as related to the menopause.

The treatment needed will depend upon the staging of the cancer. At an early stage it may be possible to treat with surgical excision of the cancerous cells. Otherwise, a hysterectomy may be required with radiotherapy and / or chemotherapy.

To bring a claim for a delay in diagnosis of cervical cancer it will need to be shown that the delay was negligent and that this impacted on the outcome i.e. the cancer will require more intensive treatment or that life expectancy has been impacted. Short delays may not be sufficient to show that the outcome was affected.