Pap smear screening is a valuable tool for detecting the presence of cervical cancer in patients early on, allowing the disease to be caught and treated before it has a chance to develop.

The effectiveness of Pap smear testing is undeniable: in the last few decades, the use of Pap smear screening has reduced the rate of cervical cancer by 60 percent. Now, women who regularly undergo Pap smear screenings are rarely diagnosed with cervical cancer—either because they did not have signs of the disease in the first place, or because it was caught early enough to be treated.

But while Pap smear testing may be extremely effective, effectiveness does not equal infallibility. Indeed, in some cases, the failure to diagnose cervical cancer during a Pap smear can lead patients to enter the later stages of the disease before it is caught, making it less treatable. In some cases, this may be the result of the medical lab’s failure to diagnose cervical cancer on the Pap smear test.

Pap Smear Screening

Pap smear screening is used to detect signs of cervical cancer before it begins, known as pre-cancer. Women are encouraged to undergo Pap smear screening regularly. The American Cancer Society encourages women age 21 to 29 to receive Pap smears every three years. Between the ages of 30 and 65, the suggested regularity reduces to every five years.

Essentially, a Pap smear screening collects cells from a patient’s cervix, which are then examined for any evidence of cancer or abnormalities that may indicate the possibility of a future diagnosis of cervical cancer. This allows a patient who shows signs of cancer to undergo preventative treatment, which can stop the cancer entirely.

Because of the effectiveness of Pap smear screening, cervical cancer is now one of the most preventable gynecologic cancers. Unfortunately, some who receive a Pap smear screening that clears them of cervical cancer risk may later end up with a cervical cancer diagnosis. This may be due to the negligence of medical labs for failure to diagnose cervical cancer early on. For instance, a medical lab may have failed to actually detect cancer cells, even though the cancer was in fact there.

Failure to diagnose cervical cancer during a Pap smear may mean that a patient is only diagnosed when the cancer has become far more serious, such as when it has already progressed to Stage 3 or Stage 4, which is much more difficult to treat and much more deadly.

Filing a Lawsuit over Failure to Diagnose Cervical Cancer

If you believe your Pap smear failed because of a medical lab’s failure to diagnose cervical cancer, you may be able to file a lawsuit.

Filing a missed cervical cancer lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by cervical cancer, nor can it bring a loved one back to life. But filing a lawsuit can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses, hospital stays, and lost wages.