Cancer: Delayed Diagnosis, Improper Treatment

Breast Cancer

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer in women, after non-melanoma skin cancer. The CDC reports that in the U.S. during 2005:

  • 186,467 women and 1,764 men were diagnosed with breast cancer
  • 41,116 women and 375 men died from the disease

Breast cancer is the sixth-leading cause of death among American women. A portion of those women may have survived if their condition had been properly diagnosed and treated.

Misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose and delayed diagnosis of breast cancer happen far too often. This form of medical malpractice prevents patients from getting the treatment they may need to survive.

How Could This Happen?

Failure to diagnose breast cancer can occur if a primary care physician or gynecologist fails to perform a breast exam or fails to use effective diagnostic techniques. They may fail to recommend mammograms or fail to properly read their patients’ test results. Radiologists can misinterpret the mammogram, or a laboratory can miss a crucial indication of cancer from a biopsy.

Doctors Who Don’t Listen to Patients

Sometimes doctors rely too much on imaging tests and do not listen enough to their patients and respect what they are saying. A woman will often come to a doctor knowing that something has changed or that something is not right, only to have her opinion disregarded.

If you believe that medical malpractice was involved in your case, please contact the attorneys at Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder PC, to arrange a free consultation. From offices in Bridgeport and New Haven, Connecticut, our medical malpractice lawyers represent clients throughout the state.