A Massachusetts medical malpractice claim that medical negligence caused the plaintiff’s rectal cancer to go undetected until it spread to his lungs was settled in November 2022 for $1 million.
The plaintiff had been treated for prostate cancer in 2002. As a result, he underwent prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and digital rectal exams (DREs) on an annual basis. He had a screening colonoscopy and DRE done on February 12, 2016 that were reported as normal findings. Then, on August 22, 2016, the plaintiff had his annual PSA and DRE. The DRE performed by the defendant found a flat and firm prostate with no abnormalities, and his PSA test result was normal at that time.
The following year during his annual prostate cancer follow-up visit, he told the defendant that he recently experienced upper right quadrant pain that had resolved. The defendant performed a DRE that found a flat and firm prostate but also found a mobile, palpable area on the left side of the rectal wall that he thought may have been an internal hemorrhoid. However, the defendant did not follow up with testing to confirm his suspicion that the area was in fact an internal hemorrhoid.
Because the plaintiff’s PSA had increased slightly during his last visit, he was scheduled for a six-month PSA on February 15, 2018. His PSA during that visit had returned to normal. However, the physical exam performed by the defendant during the February 15, 2018 visit did not include a DRE despite the palpation of a mobile area of the rectal wall during the 2017 visit. The defendant recommended an annual follow-up visit for 2019.
During the March 8, 2019 annual follow-up visit, a DRE was performed that was reported as normal; however there was an area of raised abnormal tissue found on the left side of his rectal wall. A colonoscopy was scheduled and a DRE then found a two-centimeter firm rectal mass near the anal verge. The mass was biopsied and was positive for adenocarcinoma.
The plaintiff underwent chemotherapy that was not successful and therefore later had surgery to remove the tumor with urostomy and colostomy. It was subsequently determined that the cancer had spread to his lungs, which requires ongoing adjuvant therapy.
The defense argued that the spread of the cancer to the plaintiff’s lungs had occurred during the initial chemotherapy and had already invaded the muscle wall. Hence, the defense argued that the delay in diagnosing rectal cancer did not contribute to the plaintiff’s poor prognosis.
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