Cancer can claim a person’s life faster than many people realize, especially if it’s not caught early. Unfortunately, many cancers go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed every year. One type of cancer that is frequently misdiagnosed is skin cancer.
How Does Skin Cancer Misdiagnosis Happen?
All too often, skin cancer is mistaken for other medical conditions. This is because those conditions have symptoms similar to skin cancer. In some cases, if doctors don’t thoroughly examine signs of skin cancer, they can misdiagnose it as another medical condition.
This wastes valuable time that could be used for cancer treatment, and in some instances, losing that time could mean the difference between beating the cancer and succumbing to it. The following are common medical conditions that skin cancer can be misdiagnosed as:
- Nevus – Skin cancer is sometimes misdiagnosed as just a mole, also known as a nevi. Skin cancer and some moles can share similar qualities, including an asymmetrical shape, over 6mm in size, uneven coloration, and irregular borders.
- Psoriasis – Skin cancer can be mistaken for psoriasis. They are both skin conditions. Psoriasis happens when a person’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy skin cells. It can result in a person’s skin cells forming on their skin in a manner that appears like skin cancer.
- Cherry Angioma – This is caused by increased blood vessel formation. It usually only happens in adults over 40. The blood vessel formations appear as red lumps on the skin that can sometimes appear like moles or skin cancer. However, cherry angiomas are benign and only need to be removed if they begin bleeding or for cosmetic reasons.
- Seborrheic Keratosis – These are benign (noncancerous) skin tumors. They are harmless for the most part. They can look like skin cancer in some cases.
- Sebaceous Hyperplasia – This is a product of a person’s sebaceous glands, which are glands that grow near hair follicles. Sebaceous glands provide an oily substance that protects and lubricates a person’s skin and hair. Sebaceous hyperplasia involves a sebaceous gland that swells and produces a bump. These bumps are mostly harmless and are usually only removed for cosmetic reasons. However, they can look like skin cancer on occasion.
Rash Mueller has been providing clients in Weston and throughout Florida with legal counsel, including representing victims of medical malpractice, for years. Our legal team has over four decades of collective experience and a long history of success.
For more information about medical malpractice, misdiagnosis, or delayed diagnosis, call us at (954) 914-7116 or reach out to us online today. We offer free, no-obligation consultations with our experienced medical malpractice lawyers in Weston.