There are two mistakes that physicians are most prone to making that might hold up the detection of a woman’s 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. Should a physician make either of these mistakes and thereby delays the diagnosis of the cancer until it gets to an advanced stage, she might have a claim for medical malpractice.
The first most likely error made by doctors is not to order a diagnostic test in the event that a woman says that she noticed a lump during a self-conducted breast examination or the doctor finds the lump while performing a routine clinical breast examination. A number of physicians will inform the woman she has only a noncancerous cyst, commonly when she is younger than forty and does not have a of breast cancer in her family.
Unfortunately, while most new instances of breast cancer appear in women older than fifty, 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. Because of this , a physician should recommend diagnostic testing so as to figure out whether the mass is cancerous. Among the tests that can be ordered are a mammogram, a biopsy or an aspiration.
In case the patient does indeed have have breast cancer, the failure to follow up with diagnostic testing can result in the growth and spread of the cancer.
The other most likely mistake made by doctors is to incorrectly interpret a mammogram. Physicians use mammograms to see structures in the breast that might be cancerous. The mammogram produces pictures of the inside of the breast by using x-rays of the woman's compressed breast. The ensuing images are then analyzed by doctors for the presence of any structures or changes that might be cancerous.
Regrettably, physicians occasionally miss what is literally in front of their eyes. At times physicians overlook an abnormality that appears in the mammogram. Other times, physicians improperly diagnose an abnormal structure or change as benign without ordering further tests , for example, a biopsy to rule out cancer.
Either of the mistakes can lead to a delay in the detection of the woman's breast 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. If the cancer spreads, the treatment options for the patient are reduced. In addition, the woman's 5-year survival rate, the probability that she will be alive at least five years after her diagnosis, even with treatment, diminishes considerably.
At Stage III, it is roughly 55%. By Stage IV, it can be as low as 20%. Had the cancer been detected early, the 5-year survival rate would have been over 80 percent, potentially as high as over ninety five percent if it had been diagnosed early enough.
Medical errors can have tragic consequences. This is particularly so for individuals who have cancer. Any hold up to the detection of the cancer can result in the need for a mastectomy, reduced treatment possibilities, and in some cases, may be fatal. When this happens, mistakes such as the ones discussed in this article may constitute medical malpractice.
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Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting medical malpractice cases. You can learn more about advanced breast cancer and metastasized breast cancer by visiting the websites
