The Most Prevalent Errors Made By Physicians That Delay The Diagnosis Of Breast Cancer

Situations involving the delayed diagnosis of breast cancer typically involve one of two medical mistakes - failing to order diagnostic tests to rule out cancer when a lump is felt in the breast and incorrectly interpreting a mammogram. Should a physician make either of these mistakes and in doing so holds up the detection of the cancer until it reaches an advanced stage, the woman might have a lawsuit for medical malpractice. The first most common error made by physicians is not to order a diagnostic test in the event that a woman says that she discovered a lump while doing a self-conducted breast examination or the doctor detects the lump while performing a routine clinical breast examination. Some doctors will assure the woman that this is just a benign cyst, especially if the patient is under 40 and does not have a of breast cancer in her family.
Yet, while most new cases of breast cancer occur in females older than fifty, younger women can, and are, diagnosed with breast cancer daily. Additionally, a physician cannot determine, based on a clinical breast examination, whether a lump in the breast is a benign cyst or is cancer. Because of this , a doctor ought to order diagnostic testing so as to determine if the mass is cancerous. Diagnostic tests the doctor can order include 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 metastasis of the cancer.

The other most likely mistake made by physicians is to misread a mammogram. Doctors use mammograms to check the breast for abnormalities that might be due to cancer. The mammogram produces images of the inside of the breast with low dose x-rays of the patients compressed breast. The resulting images are then examined by physicians for the existence of any structures or changes that could be cancerous. But, doctors in some cases overlook what is literally in front of them. At times physicians miss an abnormal structure or change that appears in the mammogram. In some other cases, doctors incorrectly diagnose an abnormality as not cancerous without recommending any diagnostic examination like a biopsy to rule out cancer.

Either of the errors described above can produce a delay in the detection 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 becomes advanced, the treatment possibilities for the woman are more restricted. Furthermore, 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 approximately 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 even above ninety five percent if it had been diagnosed early enough.

Medical errors can lead to terrible effects. This is particularly so for patients with cancer. Any hold up to the detection of the cancer might lead to the loss of the breast, limited treatment possibilities, and in some cases, can be fatal. Under such circumstances, errors like the ones discussed in this article might constitute medical malpractice.

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