Screening Tests Reveal Possibility Of Cancer However Doctor Does Not Advise Patient
Male patients frequently have a scant comprehension of prostate cancer
, their own risk for the cancer, and how to determine whether they have prostate cancer. Most male patients do not even know what it means to test for prostate cancer or that screening needs to be undertaken in advance of when they begin to show symptoms. They put their confidence in their doctor to do whatever is appropriate to find any cancer in the beginning stages and cure them.
Delayed diagnosis of prostate cancer examples are all too common. One common type of medical error that is at the root of these cases arises when a man's family doctor (1) actually screens the individual for prostate cancer by following the level of PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) in his system, (2) notes abnormally high levels of PSA and but (3) fails to notify the patient, fails to refer the patient to a urologist, and does not get a biopsy to find out whether the elevated PSA is due to prostate cancer. The lawsuit below shows this problem.
In this reported lawsuit a male patient found out he had prostate cancer after he followed up when advised by his internist that he probably had cancer. The issue in this case was that the doctor did not inform the patient that he could have cancer for three years after the first elevated PSA test results. The year before the man's PSA level had increased to 13.6. Two years before that it had been at 8.0 During these years the internist took no action to rule out prostate cancer as the cause of these high readings and did not tell the patient. By the time he was diagnosed he had metastatic prostate cancer and surgery was not one of the treatment options. Instead the patient underwent radiation therapy and hormone therapy in an effort to impede the further progression of the cancer. The law firm that handled this matter reported that they took the claim to mediation where they achieved a settlement of $600,000.
But not following up after noting abnormal test results results in a situation in which those patients who do in fact have prostate cancer may not learn they have it until it has spread beyond the prostate, decreasing the patient's choices for treatment, and significantly reducing the chances that the patient will be able to survive the cancer.
They should at least advise the patient that the results of the screening tests are abnormal and refer the patient to a specialist. In addition, the doctor can suggest diagnostic testing, like a biopsy.
As the claim demonstrates a doctor who makes this sort of mistake might be liable for medical malpractice.
by: Joseph Hernandez
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Screening Tests Reveal Possibility Of Cancer However Doctor Does Not Advise Patient