Doctor's Mis-Diagnosis of Friend's Cancer Proved Fatal: A Story in Memory of T.J. Snow

If you live long enough you may get cancer; after age 65 you have at least a 67 percent chance of dying with cancer. We all know someone who has been diagnosed with breast, lung, prostate or colorectal cancer. Cancer seems to be so common now that we need to be screened with our yearly checkups to find it early, if we have it.

Sometimes we don't find out until much later that we have cancer. My friend T.J. had a terrible headache that wouldn't go away. He went to the emergency room and was diagnosed with a sinus infection. He followed up with his family doctor as he was directed to, complaining that he was feeling worse. He reported that not only was his head in terrible pain, but he was having nausea and vomiting. He was still treated with sinus medications and antibiotics on the premise he had a sinus infection.

A couple of weeks passed and he took the medicine as prescribed; but he was still getting worse. He was losing his balance and couldn't walk without assistance. His eyesight was also impaired by this time. Something was definitely wrong. Then one night an ambulance had to be called for him because he had a seizure. He was taken again to the emergency room, but this time his wife insisted they take him to Athens Regional Medical Center in Athens, which is the next city over from where he lived. Tests were then done and they confirmed T.J. had an inoperable brain tumor.

Misdiagnoses happen quite often in the beginning. The doctors treat the symptoms that are present at the time, and the symptoms may resemble something as benign as a sinus infection. This is why the nurses bring a form for you to sign when you leave the emergency department. You are instructed to see your attending physician within 24 hours if you are not feeling better. Many people don't follow up right away with their physicians, because they are often times given a prescription, and they wait and see if they feel better after the medicine has been taken in full.