Hello,
My father has been having trouble opening his mouth and has been seeing his GP who felt he had TMJ and prescribed him NSAIDS. He is 71. Then he went to the dentist because he thought perhaps some of his oral pain could be an abscess, he also has pain up along side of his ear. The dentist told him he has a 4cm flesh colored tumor in the back of his mouth. We took him to a ENT who also felt a tumor in his chin area about 3cm and movable. He is scheduled for a biopsy on Monday and Tuesday he will here all of his options.
My question is, can this doctor who did not even feel his neck or ignored this mass in his mouth be in trouble for neglect? We are not looking to sue but he sure does not know what he is doing. Also I want to be supportive, is there anything I should or should not say. I understand that without the biopsy we are still not calling it cancer, but has anyone ever presented themselves with these sympyoms and had it be benign.

Misdiagnosis is a somewhat common denominator around here unfortunately. Consider that there are "only" about 30,000 cases of OC a year (compared to 1/2 million+ of other forms of cancer) . Does that excuse the doctor from malpractice? Only a personal injury lawyer can tell you that. GP's (and Dentists as well) typically get it wrong. The head, neck and throat area is very complex and hence it is a specialty onto it's own. He should have been referred to an ENT sooner.

My story is similar and it certainly wasn't benign. The tumor wasn't flesh colored though - it was tan colored. However there was no pain and it got up to 6 cm.

There are other things it could be - the biopsy is the definitive gold standard for diagnosis.

Please be aware that if his biopsy is Mon or Tues he may not get the results back immediately (depending upon the type of biopsy)so be prepared unless they have told you otherwise.

We all hope that it's not cancer but if it is you have found the best support site possible for you as well as your Dad.

I was misdiagnosed.I saw a general practictioner 3 times and asked specifically if she thought it might be cancerous-- the spot on my tongue. It was well documented. I had to have a full glossectomy due to her negligence in waiting 3 months to get referred. I approached 2 different well known lawyers and unfortunately due to malpractice laws the doctors are very protected against lawsuits due to all the frivolous ones people persued back int he 70's and 80's. It would take a lot of your own money to pursue it and even if you win it wouldn't be that much compensation that you would get.

Go ahead and approach legal counsil if you think you have a case but just kow that Drs. are very very protected.



Sad but true

Hello and thank you to everyone who replied. My families objective is not to sue this doctor but to protect any poor patient who may have this a** in the future. I feel as a GP and when a patient presents him with these kinds of symptoms, he should at least feel his neck for swollen glands or lymph nodes. He saw the 3cm tumor in his mouth and said nothing. My mother asked him to re-look at the tumor to make sure he did not miss it. The doc just called it TMJ and gave him some pain medicine. It was a dentist who finally said we have a problem.
My dad had a biopsy this morning and the ENT felt this may be lymphoma instead of oral cancer. He will tell us everything tomorrow or Wednesday.
My husband just finished 6 rounds of R-CHOP for Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma last month, he is doing great. One family member gets healthy and now one gets sick.

My heart goes out to your family during this tough time. I imagine it is a very trying time for you right now. We will pray for your father and husband!! Please let us know what the biopsy results are.

be diffiniton, I do not think you have a case for MP. Mp is difined as such,

1. Improper or negligent treatment of a patient, as by a physician, resulting in injury, damage, or loss.
2. Improper or unethical conduct by the holder of a professional or official position.


I also by what you say, I do not think this was the case. It could be he just missed the other tumor or inflamation. He is human. Heck, my ENT putted around for 3 weeks, suspecting cancer but, HE made sure he got HIS MONEY from me first before refering me out to another with more expereince. Now that was moraly wrong, but did not constitute Mal Practice. Just a piss poor morals and judegment on his part.

Bottom line is, you have found a Doc you like and trust. He is getting the care you deserve and need. I hope all comes back benign.

John
Stage4A Tonsil and back of tognue

I would certainly go back to the GP and tell him that he missed a cancer diagnosis and you want to be sure that doesn't happen again. You don't have to go through the expense and probably long term frustration of filing a lawsuit to do that. I had my plainly visible tongue cancer overlooked at two regular dental appointments (they were teeth cleaning but the dentist looked in my mouth at the end) and only caught at the third one. Right after that dental appointment, before I got into see the oral surgeon who did a biopsy and diagnosed it as cancer, I had a physical with my GP and he also looked at the tumor and said it looked to him like a spot on my tongue that was irritated by a tooth (which was what I thought it was).

Later when I saw him after my diagnosis, he did apologize for that and said he had actually never seen tongue cancer before. This was not a newly minted GP but a 40-somehting-ish GP who is very conscientious about learning whatever he can about diseases and medical conditions (makes regular rounds at our local hospital as I found out when I ended up there after treatment--and it is in part to see patients of his but in part just to learn). I am less forgiving of my dentist who never apologized for not catching it earlier - and had it been caught earlier I would not have needed radiation.

Nelie

If I had listened to my first 2 (out of 5) doctors I would probably be dead. Neither one Dx'd cancer.

Hello and thank you to all who replied. Your right, Doctors are human also, and this one especially needs to know what he missed, maybe it will make him a better doc. When my husband first went to his GP for a golf ball size tumor on his collarbone the doc said we will just keep an eye on it, and then changed his mind and ordered a x-ray. Thank God he did because that showed a 10cm tumor in his mediastium. Because we caught it so early he his now 100%
Today my dad will find out the biopsy results, I will post them later. Just posting here makes me feel better, thank you