If I Just Breathe

It’s an alarming set of events, but not unique. A young woman discovers a mass in her breast and becomes concerned. She decides to discuss it with her OB/GYN doctor. Her doctor feels the mass, but tells her not to worry about it, that she does not fit the profile for cancer. She is under forty years old, and has no family history of breast cancer. Her doctor tells her it is a cyst and to wait and see if it goes away in a few months. The woman is later found to not only have breast cancer, but to have metastatic breast cancer due to the delay in diagnosis.

The Physicians Insurers Association of America conducted a study in 1999 that found that the most common allegation in breast malpractice claims is that doctors did not order tests to check for potential breast cancer, and this led to a delay in the diagnosis of cancer, which resulted in injury to the patient (the disease progressed to a later and more deadly stage). Typically, the severity of a breast lump is underestimated, or mistaken for fibrocystic disease. Many young women go undiagnosed while their cancers continue to grow inside them because their doctors think they are too young to get breast cancer, or choose to roll the dice and not order necessary diagnostic tests in an effort to reduce costs.

Breast Cancer Malpractice Resources

American Cancer Society Article

Yahoo! Health Article

American Journal of Roentgenology Article

Guide4Living.com Article