A delayed diagnosis of cervical cancer can have important ramifications for women affected. Whether from a misread test or a false negative result, delayed diagnosis of cervical cancer means that a woman who might truly have cancer may think she is fine and forego additional screening opportunities.

A delayed diagnosis of cervical cancer also means affected women might not be able to receive a number of treatment options, ones that may be more successful early on in the detection process. This can set a woman back weeks or months in her treatment and put her life at risk.

Screening is one of the most common ways to avoid a delayed diagnosis of cervical cancer, but a number of different reports and problems from around the world indicate that false negatives or misreads on a pap smear lead plenty of women to assume they do not have cervical cancer and to go on with their life.

Cervical Cancer Screening

Ireland recently updated their cervical cancer screenings due to rising concerns about a delayed diagnosis of cervical cancer. Eighteen different women have allegedly died due to cervical cancer; they should have been told their tests were positive.

One patient had regular pap smears in 2010 and 2013 and was informed that she did not have any issues. Later, however, she received a delayed diagnosis of cervical cancer. At the time that the woman received the all clear following her 2010 pap smear, a re-evaluation of the same test indicated the pre-cancerous cells.

Screening can also test for other issues. The Cervical Check Program in Ireland, the national cervical screening program, will now be using a screening test that will determine the presence of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association claims that cervical HPV testing can detect cancer earlier on and more effectively than a routine pap smear.

The pap smear identifies cell changes that are already cancerous or could become cancerous, whereas the HPV test looks for the presence of the human papillomavirus. HPV is the cause of 99% of cervical cancers, as shared by the World Health Organization.

Since 2008, more than 3,000 women in Ireland have been diagnosed with cervical cancer. Approximately half of those cases were notified through the official screening program in which their lab history was reviewed.

A recent analysis of this data found that at least 221 of the 1,482 cases which were audited could have revealed a different result or a warning of increased risk for developing cancer to those women.

Unfortunately, a delayed diagnosis of cervical cancer can come too late for those women who are in the advanced stages of the disease. This can be confusing and extremely difficult for women who could have had an opportunity to be treated effectively but were not due to false negative results.

If you or someone you know has been affected by this situation, an experienced attorney can consult on your options.