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Five Year Lapse In Detection Of Man's Prostate Cancer Despite Indications And High Psa Values
In one reported case a patient communcated to his physician that he was suffering from urinary frequency and burning. The doctor began the man on antibiotics and refered him to a urologist. The urologist conducted a cystoscopy which showed that the individual had an enlarged prostate. The urologist additionally took a PSA blood test which came back a 16.3 (a level over a 4.0 is typically considered to be high). Consequently the urologist took a biopsy 2 months later. The biopsy was read by a pathologist as containing no sign of cancer. The next year the patient returned to the urologist. On this occasion the PSA blood test registered a 2.9 (generally accepted as in normal range). The urologist diagnosed the patient with BPH (a benign enlargement of the prostate). Three months later the man saw the PCP for fever and nocturia (needing to urinate during the night). The doctor put him on a second round of antibiotics. A follow up urine culture registered negative. The PCP therefore referred the patient to the urologist. The urologist took a PSA test which registered a 6.4 ( high). A biopsy examines samples of the prostate. Thereby, it is possible for a biopsy to not catch the cancer. However, the urologist decided to use the previous year’s biopsy and to not perform an additional one as a follow up. Rather, the urologist failed to follow up on the man’s complaints and high PSA. A year later the patient returned to his family doctor. His symptoms continued to include nocturia. On physical examination the physician noted that the individual had a very enlarged prostate. However, the physician did not order a PSA or re-refer the patient to a urologist. Standard blood testing 4 months subsequently revealed that the male patient's PSA was at 7.4 Neither doctor did anything to follow up. The next year the family doctor noted that the PSA level was 9.8 Again, no follow up or referral to a urologist. Yet an additional year and the patient is still complaining about nocturia. On this occasion the PSA was 9.7 No follow up and no referral. Five years after the man’s initial claims of urinary problems the primary care physician again documented a appreciably enlarged prostate gland and a PSA that had now risen to 31. The physician finally refered the patient back to the urologist. The urologist confirmed that the patient’s prostate was enlarged and began the patient a 2 week regimen of antibiotics to be followed by another PSA test. When the PSA test was repeated two weeks later it registered a 33. A biopsy followed which uncovered cancer in all six of the samples. Testing afterwards uncovered that the patient had prostate cancer which had spread to the lymph nodes, the liver and bone. Even with both hormone therapy and radiation therapy the patient died roughly eighteen months after his diagnosis. The law firm that represented his family published that a settlement in the amount of S1.0 Million was reached in the case. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting medical malpractice cases. To learn more about advanced prostate cancer and other type of cancer cases including advanced colon cancer visit the websites |
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