Overlooking cancer symptoms: General practitioners name six common sources of error. Doctors made misdiagnoses due to stress, overwork and/or lack of time.
Patients showed symptoms that did not indicate cancer but another disease. Human error was also exposed. Some patients did not accept the doctor's offers and advice. Communication between doctor and patient, but also between disciplines, was confusing or unclear. In some cases, a lack of knowledge of the local language was also responsible for late diagnoses.