Need Opinions Of Any Pathologist,doctors,or Christians

[htownskinfan]

I just got out the hospital yesterday,last wed I had a ultrasound guided needle biopsy done on a cyst on my thyroid.The doctor goes through the outside of your neck with a needle to stab the cyst inside a few times to get a good sample for the pathologist to examine to determine whether its cancer.So thursday nite my doctor calls me at home to tell me the pathologist is sure its cancer,doctor says I need to have my complete thyroid taken out and I should be fine after that,99percent survival rate.So I have the surgery thursday,they cut me open,doctor cuts out the cyst,they take it for another cancer test why I'm on the table,it test fine,non cancerous,doctor says wtf? finds another nodule{cyst} on the other side of thyroid and cuts it out and test it,its fine also,so he sews me up and leaves some of my thyroid,which is good,I shouldnt have to be on thyroid medication for the rest of my life.So upon waking up from surgery and finding out there was no cancer,my immediate reaction is anger.My insurance sucks and most of this expense will be out of pocket and thats a lot of money to me.The doctor says he's never had this happen to him,when the pathologist was so sure it was cancer and it wasnt,apparently its not like a pregnancy test where its either yes or no,its like an educated guess,so I guess I want to know how you guys feel about this,in some way I feel like I got screwed and wonder should I get a lawyer to see if i can get out of paying these bills{I know thats a bad reaction,this stuff probably happens all the time}my christian friends say it might have been a minor miracle because of all the people I had praying for me,I guess I should be thankful everything turned out alright and pay the bills the best I can

[wolfeskins]

thats a tuff one, i absolutely feel you should explore the possibilities of a lawsuit, at least check into it. i also feel that you are definately lucky, even though the doctor told you he could remove it and that there was a 99% survival rate, something could have gone wrong during surgery or maybe the doctor wouldn't have been able to remove all the cancerous tissue or whatever. any time someone has surgery there is always the possibility of something going wrong, even in minor surgery.
i do believe in the power of prayer and i do believe that god has a plan for everyone. if your not a believer maybe this is your wakeup call to become one, if you are already a believer maybe this will strengthen your beliefs.

get well soon and god bless
matt wolfe

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Umm, can you say malpractice?

[JWsleep]

I would certainly consider talking to a lawyer over this. Find out your options. In this sort of case, my impression is that a lawyer will work on contingency--you won't have to pay upfront, but they take a sizable cut if you win.

Look, however it turns out, you DON'T have cancer. The rest is small stuff by comparison, IMO. Not to say you shouldn't pursue things, but this is something to be very glad about.

[AlvinWalton'sNeckBrace]

the thing you have to be careful about is...was the pathologist negligent in his diagnosis or just wrong. Its worth looking into...but often times people get the two confused. Medical professionals aren't 100% correct and unless they're doing something boneheaded its not their fault

[wilsowilso]

If the pathologist is wrong about a major diagnosis that leads to a serious surgical proceedure there is no way that they can expect you to pay what your insurance doesn't cover. People make mistakes and while you are very thankful and forgiving you need to have a talk with a medical malpractice attorney. I would imagine any good attorney will be happy to talk to you for five or ten minutes on the phone and won't charge you for some initial advice.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by htownskinfan

I just got out the hospital yesterday,last wed I had a ultrasound guided needle biopsy done on a cyst on my thyroid.The doctor goes through the outside of your neck with a needle to stab the cyst inside a few times to get a good sample for the pathologist to examine to determine whether its cancer.So thursday nite my doctor calls me at home to tell me the pathologist is sure its cancer,doctor says I need to have my complete thyroid taken out and I should be fine after that,99percent survival rate.So I have the surgery thursday,they cut me open,doctor cuts out the cyst,they take it for another cancer test why I'm on the table,it test fine,non cancerous,doctor says wtf? finds another nodule{cyst} on the other side of thyroid and cuts it out and test it,its fine also,so he sews me up and leaves some of my thyroid,which is good,I shouldnt have to be on thyroid medication for the rest of my life.So upon waking up from surgery and finding out there was no cancer,my immediate reaction is anger.My insurance sucks and most of this expense will be out of pocket and thats a lot of money to me.The doctor says he's never had this happen to him,when the pathologist was so sure it was cancer and it wasnt,apparently its not like a pregnancy test where its either yes or no,its like an educated guess,so I guess I want to know how you guys feel about this,in some way I feel like I got screwed and wonder should I get a lawyer to see if i can get out of paying these bills{I know thats a bad reaction,this stuff probably happens all the time}my christian friends say it might have been a minor miracle because of all the people I had praying for me,I guess I should be thankful everything turned out alright and pay the bills the best I can

Well, there was obviously something in the cells that made him beleive they were cancerous. What was it? Was it maybe the start of cancer, and you will have to go down this road some other day because they left some in you? Who knows?
I do fully beleive that you should not bare any expense of this surgery since it was their mistake. No, this is not malpractice. It's not an exact science, therefore, they made their best guess, they were wrong. Why should you pay for their mistake?
I am a devoted Christian, and I fully beleive you should talk with a lawyer about not paying you side of things. I would be careful on this because an overzealous lawyer might seek damages due them taking out healthy thyroids. If you choose to sue for damages that is a fine line the bible does talk about, so I am gonna leave that one to you.
I will say, even though people prayed for you, that does not mean that the cancer disappeared. You likely never had it. God would not allow you to have cancer just to find out it's not there come surgery time. (1 day later) The prayers were well wishes and to look over you, which He obviously did cause you're still here with us. And now He's helping you through us.
You have every right to be angry, I would be too. Being angry does not mean over react, or do something unchristianly. I don't mean to sound rude, but did you seek a second opinion? You likely took the advice of those particular people, and people make mistakes. You made the choice to accept that diagnosis. Again, they were wrong, I'm not saying it's your fault at all.
So I would seek to not pay a single dime for the procedure since they were wrong, but I feel God is testing you about the possibility of getting something for nothing.

[wolfeskins]

nice post jsarno.

[htownskinfan]

no I didnt seek a second opinion because I wasnt sure who to seek a second opinion from,I thought once the needle biopsy showed it was cancer there was no need for a second opinion,if I would have known beforehand that the pathologist could be mistaken then maybe I would have wanted a second opinion from another lab,but who knows.They are sending all my samples to Baylor to have them retested to see if anythings different

[dblanch66]

The bottom line is that they operated without knowing they had to. Sometimes getting a second opinion before opting for surgery is a good idea too but that one is on you. As to what you can do now, you should definitely hire a lawyer and at least try to get the medical bills covered. Basically, you had a surgery that was unnecessary and incurred an expense that was unnessecary. As far as the "miracle" elements go...personally, I don't believe it was as a result of everyone praying for you, but that's me.
I do not think you are being litigious for trying to get the bills paid for.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by htownskinfan

I just got out the hospital yesterday,last wed I had a ultrasound guided needle biopsy done on a cyst on my thyroid.The doctor goes through the outside of your neck with a needle to stab the cyst inside a few times to get a good sample for the pathologist to examine to determine whether its cancer.So thursday nite my doctor calls me at home to tell me the pathologist is sure its cancer,doctor says I need to have my complete thyroid taken out and I should be fine after that,99percent survival rate.So I have the surgery thursday,they cut me open,doctor cuts out the cyst,they take it for another cancer test why I'm on the table,it test fine,non cancerous,doctor says wtf? finds another nodule{cyst} on the other side of thyroid and cuts it out and test it,its fine also,so he sews me up and leaves some of my thyroid,which is good,I shouldnt have to be on thyroid medication for the rest of my life.So upon waking up from surgery and finding out there was no cancer,my immediate reaction is anger.My insurance sucks and most of this expense will be out of pocket and thats a lot of money to me.The doctor says he's never had this happen to him,when the pathologist was so sure it was cancer and it wasnt,apparently its not like a pregnancy test where its either yes or no,its like an educated guess,so I guess I want to know how you guys feel about this,in some way I feel like I got screwed and wonder should I get a lawyer to see if i can get out of paying these bills{I know thats a bad reaction,this stuff probably happens all the time}my christian friends say it might have been a minor miracle because of all the people I had praying for me,I guess I should be thankful everything turned out alright and pay the bills the best I can

I would say that if you thought the physician was acting in what he thought was your best interest, then don't pursue a malpractice suit. However, if in your best estimation there were other factors that were contributing to his decision outside of being in your best interest, then you have every moral right to file suit for malpractice.

[htownskinfan]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

I would say that if you thought the physician was acting in what he thought was your best interest, then don't pursue a malpractice suit. However, if in your best estimation there were other factors that were contributing to his decision outside of being in your best interest, then you have every moral right to file suit for malpractice.

I'm not mad at the doctor because i do think he was led to believe it was cancer,I'm mad about the misdiagnosis of the lab work,If I did decide to contact a lawyer It wouldnt be about trying to make money out of the situation,just getting the bills paid,but I dont know if any lawyers would want to take a case like that,they want to get the money

[wilsowilso]

You need to talk with the hospital and whoever is going to try and collect these medical fees. If no one seems to care and if the hospital blames the lab and the lab won't talk to you then you are going to have to hire an attorney. You obviously don't want the kind of attorney who is looking for a big payday. You want the other type. The kind that actually is dedicated to protecting people just like you. Try something called Public Citizen which is a medical malpractice watchdog. It's a National non-profit public interest organization. Write them an email and they can probably get you some really helpful advice. I just checked and the Texas office is in Austin. The number is (512) 477-1155. If this doesn't work keep looking online for free legal advice in your area. You will find someone who can help you.

[htownskinfan]

Originally Posted by wilsowilso

You need to talk with the hospital and whoever is going to try and collect these medical fees. If no one seems to care and if the hospital blames the lab and the lab won't talk to you then you are going to have to hire an attorney. You obviously don't want the kind of attorney who is looking for a big payday. You want the other type. The kind that actually is dedicated to protecting people just like you. Try something called Public Citizen which is a medical malpractice watchdog. It's a National non-profit public interest organization. Write them an email and they can probably get you some really helpful advice. I just checked and the Texas office is in Austin. The number is (512) 477-1155. If this doesn't work keep looking online for free legal advice in your area. You will find someone who can help you.

thanks for the advice

[FRPLG]

I'd say be thankful about not having cancer and tell them you aren't payiong a dime. As for damages...you didn't have cancer...you're no worse for wear(it seems)...move on and take the high road. Seeking damages would seem greedy to me in this case.