How A Doctor Who Fails To Timely Diagnose Your Breast Cancer Might Be Liable For Medical Malpractice

Share:    

There are 2 mistakes that physicians are most likely to make that might hold up the

detection of a womans breast cancer - (1) not performing any diagnostic testing to rule out cancer when a lump is felt in the breast and (2) misinterpreting a mammogram. If a physician makes one of these mistakes and in doing so delays the detection of the cancer until it metastasizes, she might have a lawsuit for medical malpractice. The first error made by physicians is not performing any diagnostic testing in the event that a woman informs the doctor that she found a lump in the course of a self-conducted breast examination or the doctor finds the mass while performing a routine clinical breast examination. Certain physicians will inform the patient what she has is merely a noncancerous cyst, particularly if the woman is younger than forty and has no family history of breast cancer.

Unfortunately, while most new incidents of breast cancer occur in females older than 50, younger women can, and are, diagnosed with breast cancer daily. Further, it is not possible to rule out the existence of cancer based merely on a clinical breast examination. This is why a physician should perform diagnostic testing in order to determine whether the mass is cancerous. Diagnostic tests the doctor can order include a mammogram, a biopsy or an aspiration.

If the patient does have breast cancer, not recommending diagnostic testing can result in the metastasis of the cancer.

The other most likely error made by doctors is to incorrectly interpret a mammogram. Mammograms are taken to scan the breast for abnormalities that could be cancerous. The mammogram makes pictures of the inside of the breast by using low dose x-rays of the woman's compressed breast. The ensuing images are then studied by doctors for the presence of any structures or changes that might be cancerous. Regrettably, doctors sometimes miss what is basically in front of their eyes. Sometimes doctors overlook an abnormality that appears in the mammogram. In some other cases, physicians wrongly diagnose an abnormality as benign without ordering further tests like a biopsy to rule out cancer.
Share:    

Either of the mistakes described above might cause a delay in the diagnosis of the woman's cancer. The longer the detection of breast cancer is delayed, the more likely it is that the cancer will spread and reach an advanced stage. When the cancer becomes advanced, the treatment possibilities available to the patient are reduced. Moreover, her 5-year survival rate, the chance she has of surviving the cancer for five years or more, even with treatment, decreases considerably.

At Stage III, it is approximately 55%. By Stage IV, it can be as low as 20%. If the cancer had been detected early, the 5-year survival rate would have been over 80 percent, potentially even above ninety five percent if it had been detected sufficiently early.

Medical mistakes may have terrible consequences. This is particularly so for women with cancer. The delay in diagnosis may lead to the loss of the breast, reduced treatment possibilities, and under certain circumstances, may be fatal. Under such circumstances, errors like the ones discussed in this article might amount to malpractice

by:Joseph Hernandez

POST COMMENT

Lung Cancer And Drug Abuse Drug Free Acid Reflux Relief – Forget Those Drugs and Get Rid Of Your Heartburn For Good Different Types of Heartworm Medicine New Biomedical Sensor To Detect Diabetes Which Is Often A Serious Sickness Two Medical Malpractice Cases Alleging Doctors Heldup Diagnosis Of Cancer In African-american Men What You Need To Know On Heartworm Medicine Ways In Which Medical Malpractice Claim Might Arise Out Of Delayed Diagnosis Of Colon Cancer How A Doctor Who Fails To Timely Diagnose Your Breast Cancer Might Be Liable For Medical Malpractice Medical Conditions Are, to Some Degree, Relative - Beat Cancer Like it is Nothing Isoprinosine An Immuno Booster Drug For Aids And Cancer Patients What You Need To Know On Heartworm Medicine Fda Reports Recommend Pulling Diabetes Drug Avandia Because It May Be Causing Heart Attacks Medical Emergency in Heart Attacks