Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer

    /24-7PressRelease/ - March 02, 2008 - No woman wants to hear that she has breast cancer, but it is second most deadly cancer for women in the U.S., and although it rarely happens, men can get it too. Early detection is the key to surviving breast cancer. Failure to diagnose breast cancer can result in disfigurement, more aggressive and harmful treatments, and death.

How breast cancer goes undetected
Failure to order a mammogram, poor imaging, and improper readings of mammograms are often involved in breast cancer misdiagnosis. In many cases doctors imply do not feel that the patient is a likely candidate for breast cancer, and therefore does conduct the proper testing. Common mistakes that lead to failure to diagnose breast cancer include:
• Failure to recognize early warning signs and symptoms
• Failure to order mammogram, even with the presence of lumps or other symptoms
• Failure to recommend tests due to financial concerns
• Failure to order tests for younger women
• Improper reading of mammograms
• Poor mammogram images
• Improper administration of tests
• Improper blood and tissue sampling
• Failure to follow up with patient

Breast cancer symptoms
Breast cancer is most often overlooked in younger women, even if they display the symptoms, because breast cancer is uncommon in younger women. Breast cancer symptoms include:
• Breast lumps
• Discharge from nipple
• Nipple retraction or indentation
• Changes in breast size or shape
• Breast skin indentions
• Pitted or red breast skin (often resembling an orange peel)

Lumps should never be overlooked. Most lumps are not cancer, but almost every case of breast cancer involves breast lumps.

Breast cancer treatment
The extensiveness of treatment is directly proportional to how advanced the cancer has become. When breast cancer is caught early a lumpectomy can save most of the breast, remove the tumor and a small amount of surrounding tissue. Partial mastectomy can still save a good deal of your breast tissue, but is more invasive. More advanced breast cancer can require a simple or modified radical mastectomy. Simple mastectomy removes all of your breast tissue, and a modified radical mastectomy removes your entire breast.

After surgery to remove the cancer, most women choose to have reconstructive surgery. Failure to diagnose breast cancer means not only a more invasive initial surgery, but more complicated and difficult reconstruction.

Delayed diagnosis of breast cancer is devastating to victims and their loved ones. It is avoidable medical negligence. Breast cancer misdiagnosis can lead to:
• More aggressive treatments
• Much more invasive surgery
• More expensive treatment
• Disfigurement
• Extensive reconstructive surgery
• Pain
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Permanent disability
• Depression
• Death

New Jersey medical malpractice lawyer Michael L. Weiss, Esq. has tried several failure to diagnose breast cancer lawsuits to a jury and has successfully recovered millions of dollars on behalf of medical malpractice victims and their families. If you or a loved one has been harmed by a physician's failure to diagnose breast cancer, please contact Weiss & Paarz, P.C., today.

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