Cancer misdiagnosis claims argue that pap test results can be misinterpreted, resulting in a false negative result and a missed cervical cancer diagnosis.

Patients diagnosed with cancer after getting normal results from a pap smear have filed cancer misdiagnosis claims, arguing that a false negative pap smear result can be extremely dangerous to women’s health. A missed cancer diagnosis can result in aggressive cervical cancer spreading with no symptoms until it is too late to treat.

Cervical cancer affects the cervix, a portion of the female reproductive system comprising the lowest part of the uterus connecting to the vaginal canal. The cervix is important to female reproductive health and plays a central role in fertility, menstruation, and childbirth.

Cervical cancer can be difficult to diagnose based on symptoms alone, as many cases are asymptomatic until the cancer reaches an advanced stage when it is more difficult to treat. Symptoms of late stage cervical cancer include irregular vaginal bleeding, watery or bloody discharge, and pelvic pain.

Due to the lack of symptoms, cervical cancer used to be the leading cause of cancer death in women. Cases of cervical cancer were often not detected until symptoms appeared and the cancer had spread to other parts of the body. To combat the rising mortality rate, routine pap smears were introduced and recommended as a regular part of female reproductive health.

During a pap test, a physician swabs the cervix with a specialized instrument designed to collect cells. These cells are then sent to a lab to detect abnormal growth which can be an early sign of cervical cancer or indicative of a risk for the condition. Doctors recommend that women over 21 have a pap test done every three to five years to monitor cervical health and cancer risk. The CDC says nearly 28.5 million pap tests were ordered during office visits in 2015 alone, with 69 precent of women age 18 or older having a pap smear within the last three years.

“Although the pap test has been more successful than any other screening test in preventing a cancer, it’s not perfect. One of the limitations of the pap test is that the results need to be examined by the human eye, so an accurate analysis of the hundreds of thousands of cells in each sample is not always possible,” states the American Cancer Society.

Lab technicians and other medical professionals are responsible for reviewing numerous pap test results every year. With a large inflow of results relying on human analysis, a misdiagnosis is bound to happen due to human error. However, some cancer misdiagnosis claims point the finger at physician negligence or error. If a doctor does not correctly administer a pap test or a physician determines that pap test results do not warrant further testing, they may be responsible for a missed cervical cancer diagnosis.

If you or a loved one received a false negative on a pap test and were later diagnosed cervical cancer, you may be eligible to file cancer misdiagnosis claims in a lawsuit. Damages for cancer misdiagnosis claims could help recover punitive damages as well as compensation for medical expenses, missed work, pain and suffering, wrongful death, and more.