In the developed world as many as 1 in 3 people will develop some form of cancer at some point in their lifetime and this disease remains one of the greatest causes of mortality in the developed world.

However, dramatic improvements have been made over the past decade in the treatment of many forms of cancer which have resulted in a significant improvement to patient outcomes. Thus in many cases if the diagnosis is made early enough and the correct treatment given in a timely fashion this can result in a complete cure or a significant prolongation of life expectancy.

In many cases that have been successfully pursued by Michael Boylan, the central allegation of negligence has involved an allegation of delay in a proper timely diagnosis of the cancer and thus timely treatment (either by way of chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery) has been delayed with the result that the prognosis for survival has been worsened or more radical invasive treatment has become necessary.

Often, the delay in proper diagnosis can result from a failure to carry out, properly analyse and react to abnormal blood tests. Failure to perform scans or X-rays, failure to properly read/ interpret such scans or X-rays or failure to perform core biopsies. Sometimes the negligence can involve poorly performed surgery. Less often medication or dosage errors occur so that the patient receives an excess or too little of a drug or radiation with adverse effects.