Prognosis For Misdiagnosis

Misdiagnosis is unacceptably the third leading cause of death in the U.S., only superseded by heart disease and cancer. What if it happened to you? Would you know what to do to save your own life? Within these pages are true stories of patients fortunate to survive - and brave enough to share - their firsthand experiences with misdiagnosis. Also included are several innovative programs the medical community is implementing to help assure future patients won't have to face the same, often life-threatening challenges. Book Excerpt:As pooling bittersweet tears form, pressuring the backs of my eyelids, I'm far too proud to allow them to escape their anatomical dams, divulging my vulnerability to the world.With eyes opened exaggeratedly wide, as though surprised himself, with the disturbing results of a scan he ordered, my specialist looks at my husband and says, "Your wife is a LOT sicker than she looks!" - and once again I'm reminded of the dangerous impact assessing a patient by how healthy she looks can have on misdiagnosis. --------------------------------As long as rare diseases exist exist, patients will appear on doctors' doorsteps with often inexplicable symptoms. Considering there are thousands of these sometimes referred to "mystery illnesses", it would be unrealistic to expect any medical professional to recognize the symptoms of each one. At the same time, it is also unconscionable to expect a patient to live with a serious, at times life-threatening disease which remains untreated and/or dismissed because if it is unidentified. In the interim, prior to accurate diagnosis, when a patient presents with unrecognizable symptoms, there has to be a better system in place to address what could ultimately represent a serious situation. Learn what is currently being done by those in the medical profession who feel as I do. What you discover can save your life - or that of a loved one!