Oncologist Fails to Diagnose Post-Chemotherapy Tumor, Causing Patient to Suffer Crippling Abdominal Pain; Settled for $150,000

A man with a history of testicular cancer suffered needlessly because his oncologist failed to properly diagnose his growing tumor. The man consulted his oncologist about progressively worsening abdominal pain described as very similar to the pain he had experienced when he had cancer. PET and CT scans indicated the presence of a growing mass, which the oncologist incorrectly attributed to post-cancer scar tissue. After two years, the patient's abdominal pain became so severe that he was hospitalized for pain control, whereupon another CT scan revealed the mass to be a teratoma, a tumor common in testicular cancer survivors. The mass had grown so large due to the delayed diagnosis that the removal necessitated a radical and highly invasive procedure. Kevin G. Liebeck of Hodes Milman represented the plaintiff, resulting in a settlement of $150,000 for medical expenses, loss of income, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium for the plaintiff's wife.