Trisha Torrey found a golf ball-size lump in her torso. A surgeon removed it and gave her the grim news: cancer.
"The oncologist told me that if I didn't begin chemo immediately," says Torrey, "I would be dead by Christmas."
But something in her gut told her the diagnosis was wrong.
Torrey delayed chemo and went to another oncologist, who sent a tissue sample to the National Institutes of Health. The result: Torrey never had cancer.
The lump was a harmless fatty growth.
misdiagnoses are more common than you might think
red flags -- five reasons for suspecting your doctor might have made the wrong diagnosis.
1. You don't get better with treatment
Sometimes doctors stick to a diagnosis even when multiple treatments aren't working.
2. Your symptoms don't match your diagnosis
This is where the Internet comes in. You don't have to be a medical professional to Google your diagnosis.
3. Your diagnosis is based purely on a lab test
4. Your doctor attributes common complaints to an uncommon ailment
clipped from: www.cnn.com 