When A Diagnosis Of Advanced Prostate Cancer Was Avoidable
What would you do if you found out that you had cancer of the prostate
? How would you react if you then additionally discovered that the cancer had metastasized by the time it was found rendering it, at the present time, not curable? And what would you do if you then discovered that your doctor either did not properly monitor you for prostate cancer or dismissed abnormal results of screening tests that could have led to finding your cancer when it was still confined to the prostate and was still curable?
Do you believe that such a thing will never happen to you? Then consider the matters below:
Case:
For a three year interval a primary care physician did not tell his patient that the results of blood tests showed that the individual's PSA level was not only high it was also climbing. By the time the physician eventually informed his patient about the abnormal test results the result was a diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer. By then, the patient could no longer hope for a cure, but instead for treatment that would hopefully slow down the spread of the cancer and later, alleviate the pain
Case:
Not only did the doctor in this case not tell his patient his PSA level had been abnormal and rising, the physician actually told him that the test results were normal. The patient discovered he had cancer of the prostate only after he consulted with a urologist at the urging of a family member. The diagnosis - prostate cancer that had spread to the seminal vesicles.
Case:
A family doctor conducted a digital examination of the patient's prostate gland and found that his prostate gland had a hardened region. The doctor did not tell the man. The physician did not refer the man to a urologist for a consult. The physician also did not perform a biopsy to figure out whether the hardened area was cancerous or benign. When the patient eventually discovered the cancer it had already metastasized to other parts of his body.
Case:
For 2 1/22 years a man's physician had information that his PSA levels were high. At the time the man was finally diagnosed with prostate cancer he attempted surgery hoping that the cancer had not spread beyond the prostate and that surgery could eliminate the cancer. He also went through months of hormonal therapy. Following the surgery PSA levels found that there was still cancer present in his body.
Each of the matters discussed above led to a medical malpractice claim. The law firms that handled these lawsuits reported being able to get compensation for the patients and their families in amounts that ranged from $400,000 to $1,500,000.
Far too many men end up in situations just like the preceding. Whether the physicians do not review the results of the tests, whether they buy into the believe that there is no need to take action even though the PSA is elevated or a nodule of a certain size is detected in the prostate, or whether they simply do not accept the guidelines and the standard of care for the action that is proper when screening results are abnormal, these doctors are responsible a delay that brings about the growth and spread of the cancer.
Various doctors do not think that there is any benefit to screening men for prostate cancer (or do not understand the guidelines) and either simply do not screen their male patients or advise them against it. Other physicians do not review the results of screening tests while other physicians fail to follow up on an abnormal screening test result and not order a biopsy or refer the patient to a specialist. The result is often tragic: an unnecessary death from a cancer that could have been completely removed if found while in the early stages.
Imagine being the one who got that news. You would likely fight the cancer as hard and as long as you could. What if you were his spouse? What if you were his child? What if the patient was your son? You would help him fight the cancer and you offer him all the love and support you had to give.
Maybe you might decide to bring a lawsuit for medical malpractice to help protect your family's future. And you might hope that if forced to face the mistake and to pay a cost for it, possibly, just possibly, the physician will improve how he or she treats other patients afterward so that this tragedy will never occur again.
by: J. Hernandez
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