subject: African-American Men Recover For Prostate Cancer Metastasizes Due To Diagnosis Holdup [print this page] African-American Men Recover For Prostate Cancer Metastasizes Due To Diagnosis Holdup
Below we examine two cases that give us some insight into the advantages of testing males for prostate cancer. While there has been some debate of late on the worth of testing male patients for prostate cancer (in particular concerning the PSA test) some facts remain undisputable. First, prostate cancer affects PSA levels. Next, men of African-American descent have a greater probability of getting prostate cancer before it spreads. Also, if prostate cancer is diagnosed early, the patient has a decent chance of conquering the cancer. Further, when it is not identified until after it has already spread, there is at this time no way to eliminate the cancer. Finally, normally medical doctors recognize that at the minimum a physician ought to have a conversation with a male patient of a specified age concerning screening for prostate cancer and that discussion and any testing should happen at an earlier age for male patients of African-American descent.
In one malpractice claim, a man of African-American heritage routinely saw his family physician. Throughout the years, the doctor saw him for a number of medical problems. Among them were prostate related problems. Yet, the physician never correctly conduct screening when the individual was asymptomatic or diagnostic testing to rule out the chance of prostate cancer when the individual had prostate related probles. When the man was 57, he came across an article which described the advantages of testing and requested the screening. At the time he was diagnosed with prostate cancer which had already spread. The law firm that handled this case reported it settled for the sum of three quarter of a million dollars.
Consider the next reported case of a forty one year-old African-American man who had taken part in an ad campaign meant to raise awareness over the risk of prostate cancer in middle-aged males of African-American descent asked his physician screen him for the cancer. The physician conducted a digital examination and uncovered no abnormalities. The doctor ordered blood tests for the patient but failed to get a PSA test The physician did not let the man know that no PSA test had been ordered. The patient was seen again by the same physician 2 years later at which point the doctor failed to do a physical examination of the prostate and just as before did not order a PSA test.
Advance to later that same year. The patient returns to the same medical practice but is seen by a different doctor. This time the physician not only performed a digital examination but also ordered a PSA test. The result the mant, now almost 45, had advanced cancer which had spread to the bone. The patient filed a lawsuit against the doctor for the injury caused him by the delay in the diagnosis of his cancer. The law firm that took the case reported that the case was settled pending an appeal of a $2.75 Million verdict.
An important issue from these matters is that, regardless of any doubt concerning the value of testing male patients for prostate cancer, failing to do so may end in spread of the disease and eventually, the death of the man : a death that might have be prevented. If you was not diagnosed until the cancer of the prostate had reached an advanced stage because the doctor never notified the man about testing procedures or caused a holdup in the diagnosis or treatment of the cancer, you should consult with an attorney immediately.
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