Cancer misdiagnoses up among the young

Cases of colon cancer among younger people is on the rise even as the rate for those older than 50 decreases, a phenomenon that is leading to more missed diagnoses. Such was the case for a 44-year-old Maryland woman who seven years ago went to doctors with all the symptoms of colorectal cancer, including diarrhea, vomiting, cramping, iron deficiency and extreme fatigue. Her doctors evidently thought she was too young to have the disease, so Carol Carr was never tested for colorectal cancer. Instead, according to an article in The Baltimore Sun, she was told that she likely had the flu, anxiety and even a brain disorder. When Carr got too sick to work, she finally saw a specialist who ordered a colonoscopy and she was diagnosed with Stage II colorectal cancer. The test found a mass that had blocked most of her colon and had grown through her intestinal wall. Such missed diagnoses are becoming more common. While overall rates of colorectal cancer have been declining by almost 3 percent per year, the cancer rate in people 18 to 49 years old increased 2.1 percent between 1998 and 2007. Get more information about cancer malpractice cases.