Man Finds He Has Prostate Cancer Metastasis Even With 5 Years Of Symptoms And Abnormal Tests

Prostate cancer is a dreadful disease

Prostate cancer is a dreadful disease. Although not 100% accurate there are diagnostic tests that assist doctors to establish whether the cancer is present in a patient. But given the prospect of false negatives (a negative test result although the patient in fact has cancer) doctors have to follow up and redo tests as appropriate when patient complaints and screening tests continue to indicate the possibility of cancer. Not doing so might leave the doctor liable for malpractice.

In one published lawsuit a man communicated to his family doctor that he was having urinary frequency and burning. The doctor started the patient on antibiotics and referred him to a urologist. The urologist performed a cystoscopy which found that the individual had an enlarged prostate. The urologist additionally did a PSA blood test which came back a 16.3 (a result over a 4.0 is ordinarily considered to be elevated). Consequently the urologist did a biopsy two months later. The biopsy was read by a pathologist as exhibiting no sign of cancer.

The subsequent year the patient returned to the urologist. This time the PSA was a 2.9 (typically considered to be in normal range). The urologist decided that the man had BPH (a benign enlargement of the prostate). Three months later the individual went to the family doctor for fever and nocturia (needing to urinate over the night). The physician started him again on antibiotics. A follow up urine culture came back negative. The primary care physician thus referred the individual back to the urologist. The urologist ordered a PSA test which registered a 6.4 (again, high).

A biopsy analyzes samples of the prostate. Therefore, a biopsy could miss the cancer. Yet, the urologist decided to depend on the previous year's biopsy and to not perform another one as a follow up. Rather, the urologist failed to do anything more with regards to the male's complaints and elevated PSA. The next year the individual returned to his primary care physician. His symptoms including nocturia persisted. On physical examination the physician documented that the man had a highly enlarged prostate. Still, the physician failed to do another a blood test or re-refer the patient to a urologist. Standard blood testing 4 months subsequently showed that the male patient's PSA was at 7.4 Neither physician followed up in any way.

The following year the primary care physician noted that the PSA level was 9.8 Once more, no follow up or referral to a urologist. Still another year and the individual continues to have problems with nocturia. On this occasion the PSA was 9.7 No follow up and no referral. On the fifth yea following the man's earliest claims of urinary problems the primary care physician once more documented a substantially enlarged prostate gland and a blood test that had now risen to 31. The doctor at last referred the individual back to the urologist.

The urologist verified that the patient's prostate was enlarged and began the man a two week program of antibiotics to be followed by another PSA blood test. After the blood test was repeated 2 weeks afterward it recorded a level of 33. A biopsy was then at last done which found cancer every sample taken.

Testing subsequently found that the man had cancer metastasis to the lymph nodes, the liver and the bone. Regardless of a course of both hormone therapy and radiation therapy the patient passed away roughly eighteen months following his diagnosis. The law firm that handled this matter published that the case settled for $1,000,000.

by: Joseph Hernandez

POST COMMENT

The Beginning Symptoms Of Early Pregnancy Electronic Cigarette: Say quit to smoking A History Of Sleep - How We Got The Modern Mattress Feeling Insomniac? It Might Be Your Mattress The Symptoms And Causes Of Yeast Infections Internal and External Hemorrhoid Treatment Health Benefits of the Mineral Called Magnesium If Physician Says You Merely Have Hemorrhoids But Does No Testing You Might Still Have Colon Cancer Colostrum - The Best Natural Immunity Vaccine Makeup tips fit body shape | makeup tips Things To Consider When Using A Body Cleanse To Improve Well-being Antibacterial Kitchen Cleaning Products What Are The Components Of Healthy Marriage?