Lung cancer is deadly. The earlier you diagnose and treat it, the better off you'll be- hopefully.

Depending upon the type of cancer and when it's diagnosed, will determine your treatment options and survivability. Believe it or not, you don't have to smoke to get lung cancer. There's second hand smoke, there's carcinogen's in our environment, and our work environments may have something to do with it.

As a lawyer, when a client comes to me wondering if their lung cancer could have been detected earlier, I need to know the following important answers:

1. Were you under the care of an internist, or any physician, during the time you believe you should have been diagnosed?

2. Did you make any complaints to your doctor that should have warranted a chest x-ray?

3. Does anyone in your family have a history of cancer, especially lung cancer?

4. What type of lung cancer were you diagnosed with?

5. What stage of lung cancer were you diagnosed with? (The stages are typically from Stage 0 to Stage IV, with IV being the most severe and deadly.)

6. How much time went by from when you believe you should have been diagnosed, until the actual diagnosis was made?

7. Did you ask your treating cancer specialist (an oncologist) if your outcome would be different if the cancer had been detected 'x' years ago? (This is very important, since different types of cancer have different growth patterns. Some are slow growing, and some are fast growing. If you have a slow growing tumor, and had made complaints that suggested the need for further follow-up and x-rays, you might have the basis for a case.)

8. What is your prognosis? (What do the doctors think about your survivability and the treatment still available to you?

9. Are you a smoker?

10. What type of cancer have you been diagnosed with?

Then, with all of that information, I must obtain your medical records, x-rays, CAT scans, and other information, and have a medical expert (preferrably a pulmonary specialist) review your records.

This expert will determine whether the standards of care in New York were breached, and if so, whether those departures from good care caused and contributed to your injuries. All of those elements must be present in order to start a lawsuit on your behalf. If any one of those elements is missing, it is impossible to prosecute a case for you.