Errors By Doctors That Might Bring About The Delayed Diagnosis Of A Patient's Breast Cancer

There are two errors that physicians are most likely to make that can delay the diagnosis of a woman’s breast cancer - failing to order diagnostic tests to rule out cancer when a lump is felt in the breast and incorrectly interpreting a mammogram. If a doctor makes one of these errors and thus holds up the diagnosis of the cancer until it spreads, the woman may have a claim for malpractice. The first most likely error made by physicians is not to order a diagnostic test after a woman complains that she found a lump during a self-conducted breast examination or the doctor detects the mass while performing a routine clinical breast examination. Some physicians will inform the woman she has nothing more than a benign cyst, particularly when she is under 40 and does not have a of breast cancer in her family.

Unfortunately, even though most new instances of breast cancer appear in women older than fifty, younger females can, and are, diagnosed with breast cancer daily. Further, it is not possible to determine, using only a clinical breast examination, whether a mass in the breast is a benign cyst or cancer. Because of this , a physician ought to recommend diagnostic testing so as to establish if 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, the failure to follow up with diagnostic testing may lead to the growth and spread of the cancer.

The second mistake made by physicians is to misread a mammogram. Mammograms are used to scan the breast for abnormalities that could be cancerous. The mammogram creates pictures of the inside of the breast with low dose x-rays of the patient’s compressed breast. The resulting images are then examined by doctors for the existence of any structures or changes that might be cancerous.

Regrettably, doctors in some cases overlook what is literally in front of them. Sometimes doctors miss an abnormality that turns up in the mammogram. Other times, doctors improperly diagnose an abnormality as not cancerous without ordering any diagnostic examination , for example, a biopsy to exclude the possibility of cancer.

Either of the mistakes can produce 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. If the cancer spreads, the treatment options for the woman are reduced. In addition, her 5-year survival rate, the probability that she will be alive at least five years after her diagnosis, even with treatment, lessens considerably.

By rhe time the cancer advances to the third stage, the survival rate drops to fifty-five percent and by the fourth stage it is only roughly twenty percent. 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 diagnosed sufficiently early.

Medical errors may have tragic outcomes. This is especially true for individuals with cancer. Any hold up to the detection of the cancer might result in the need for a mastectomy, limited treatment possibilities, and in some cases, can be even lead to the death of the woman. Under such circumstances, errors like the ones discussed in this article may constitute malpractice.

By: J. Hernandez

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Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting medical malpractice cases and wrongful death cases. You can learn more about cases involving breast cancer and other cancer matters including colon cancer by visiting the websites