Medical Malpractice Claims Against Doctors For The Late Diagnosis Of Breast Cancer

There are 2 errors that physicians are most prone to making that may hold up the detection of a female patient's breast cancer - failing to recommend diagnostic tests to rule out cancer when a lump is felt in the breast and incorrectly interpreting a mammogram. If a physician makes one of these mistakes and thereby holds up the diagnosis of the cancer until it metastasizes, the female patient may have a case for malpractice. The first error made by physicians is not to order a diagnostic test in the event that a woman indicates that she found a mass in the course of a self-conducted breast examination or the physician finds the lump during a screening clinical breast examination. A number of doctors will inform the woman that this is just a benign cyst, especially if the woman is under forty and does not have a of breast cancer in her family.

Yet, despite the fact that the majority of new cases of breast cancer occur in females more than 50 years old, younger women can, and are, diagnosed with breast cancer every day. Additionally, it is not possible to rule out the existence of cancer based merely on a clinical breast examination. This is why a physician should recommend diagnostic testing in order to determine whether the mass is cancerous. Among the tests that can be ordered are a mammogram, a biopsy or an aspiration. If the patient does have breast cancer, not recommending diagnostic testing may lead to the metastasis of the cancer.

The other error made by doctors is to misread a mammogram. Doctors use mammograms to check the breast for abnormalities that could be cancerous. The mammogram produces pictures of the inside of the breast with x-rays of the woman's compressed breast. The ensuing images are then analyzed by physicians for the existence of abnormalities that could be cancerous.

Regrettably, doctors in some cases miss what is basically in front of them. Sometimes physicians overlook an abnormal structure or change that appears in the mammogram. Other times, physicians incorrectly diagnose an abnormal structure or change as benign without recommending further tests such as a biopsy to exclude the possibility of cancer.

By making either mistake a physician may be responsible for 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 spreads, the treatment alternatives for the woman are more limited. In addition, her 5-year survival rate, the probability that she will be alive at least five years after her diagnosis, even with treatment, diminishes significantly.

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, possibly even above ninety five percent if it had been detected early enough.

Medical errors can result in tragic consequences. This is particularly so for women with cancer. Any hold up to the detection of the cancer might result in the need for a mastectomy, reduced treatment possibilities, and under certain circumstances, might be even lead to the death of the patient. In situtations when this is the result, mistakes like the ones discussed in this article may constitute medical malpractice

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