A timely diagnosis of a medical condition can be the first step on the road to recovery. A misdiagnosis, however, can lead to complications, setbacks, and even death. This is especially true in the case of breast cancer. Breast cancer can be treated if it is diagnosed early. A correct diagnosis can be the difference between a simple surgery and death. If a medical professional fails to adhere to the appropriate standard of care and misdiagnoses someone with breast cancer, they should be held liable for injury.
Contributing Factors
Failure to diagnose breast cancer can have tragic results for a patient. There are a number of different errors that a medical professional can make that may lead to a misdiagnosis, including:
- Failure to order proper cancer screening tests in accordance with medical standards, especially for women with risk factors
- Misreading of a mammogram or other diagnostic test
- Failure to perform a proper physical exam
- Failure to take a proper tissue sample
- Failure to recognize and respond to the symptoms of cancer
- Misdiagnosing cancer as another benign condition
- Failure to take an accurate patient history
- Miscommunication between a radiologist and the patient’s physician
Misdiagnosed Conditions
Unfortunately, breast cancer misdiagnoses happen far too frequently. Some conditions that breast cancer may be misdiagnosed as include:
- Cyst in the breast
- Lipoma or benign tumors
- Blocked milk ducts
- Fibromyalgia
- Depression
- Chronic fatigue
Medical professionals must take a woman’s symptoms seriously and order proper diagnostic testing. Symptoms can appear differently in individual women and doctors must take this into account when treating patients. In addition, it’s important for physicians to keep in mind that men can also suffer from breast cancer.
False Breast Cancer Diagnosis
A misdiagnosis can also occur when a physician tells a patient that they have breast cancer when, in fact, they do not. Receiving a breast cancer misdiagnosis can be devastating and lead to painful, expensive, and unnecessary treatments such as chemotherapy and surgery.
Contact an Experienced Medical Malpractice Attorney
If you or a loved one has suffered as the result of a medical misdiagnosis, you should have an experienced medical malpractice attorney evaluate your case. At Bonina & Bonina, P.C., we have over 50 years of experience helping New Yorkers injured by medical malpractice. Contact us online or call us at 1-888-MEDLAW1 to schedule your free consultation. Home and hospital visits are available. Se habla español