How Would You React If You Discovered Your Physician Delayed The Diagnosis Of Your Prostate Cancer?
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-08-02 19:38:19 | Word Count: 836
What would you do if you discovered that you had cancer of the prostate? How would you react if you then additionally found out that the cancer had already spread beyond the prostate rendering it, at the current time, not curable? And what would you do if you then came to understand that your doctor either failed to correctly screen you for prostate cancer or overlooked abnormal results of screening tests that could have helped diagnose your cancer while before it had spread, at a time when it was still curable?
Do you assume that this will never happen to you? Then consider the following instances:
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Case:
Over a three year period a primary care physician failed to notify his patient that the results of blood tests revealed that the individual's PSA level was not only raised it was also rising. By the time the physician finally told the individual about the abnormal test results the diagnosis was metastatic prostate cancer. By then, the patient could no longer hope for a cure, but rather for treatment that would with luck delay the spread of the cancer and later, ease the pain
Case:
Not only did the doctor in this case not tell his patient his PSA level had been abnormal and rising, the doctor actually advised him that they were normal. The patient learned he had cancer of the prostate only after he went to a urologist at the urging of a family member. The diagnosis - prostate cancer that had spread to the seminal vesicles.
Case:
A primary care physician completed a digital examination of the patient's prostate gland and noticed that his prostate gland had a hardened area. The physician failed to inform the man. The physician failed to refer the man to a urologist for a consult. The physician also did not order a biopsy to figure out if 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:
The patient has high PSA levels for more than two years. But, his doctor failed to tell him for that whole period of time. At the time the man was ultimately diagnosed with prostate cancer he attempted surgery hoping that the cancer had not spread beyond the prostate and that surgery could remove the cancer. He also underwent months of hormonal therapy. Following the surgery PSA levels verified that there was still cancer present in his body.
Each of the matters discussed above led to a lawsuit. The law firms that handled these cases reported being able to resolve the claims in amounts that ranged from $400,000 to $1,500,000.
Far too many men end up in positions similar to the above. Whether the physicians do not review the results of the tests, whether they take the position 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 just do not accept the guidelines and the standard of care for the action that is proper when screening results are abnormal, these physicians are responsible a delay that leads to the growth and spread of the cancer.
A number of physicians do not think that there is any advantage to screening men for prostate cancer (or do not appreciate the guidelines) and either simply do not screen their male patients or advise them against it. Other physicians do not check 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 avoidable death from a cancer that could have been cured 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 can. Imagine being his spouse or life-partner. Imagine being his son or daughter. Imagine being his father or mother. You help him fight the cancer and you offer him all the love and support you can. You would help him fight the cancer and you offer him all the love and support you had to give.
Possibly you might decide to bring a case for medical malpractice to help protect your family's future. And you might hope that if compelled to face the mistake and to pay a cost for it, maybe, just maybe, the physician will alter how he or she treats other patients afterward so that this tragedy will never happen again.
