Doctor - Overlooking Abnormal Prostate Cancer Test Results Could Give Rise To Medical Malpractice Claim
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-09-25 12:43:32 | Word Count: 636
With respect to prostate cancer there are two tests that are recommended to be used in combination to screen for the cancer before any symptoms surface. The idea is to detect the cancer in the beginning stages while treatment is likely to cure the cancer rather than wait until the cancer progresses and spreads at which point there is currently no known cure. The first is a physical examination of the prostate gland for any abnormalities that might be due to prostate cancer. The second test is the PSA blood test which measures the level of prostate specific antigen in the patient's system. A PSA over 4. ng/ml is normally regarded as high. As prostate cancer increases the PSA level as the prostate cancer advances physicians normally recommend a biopsy when the PSA test registers abnormally high.
If a factor other than prostate cancer triggers the PSA level to increase the elevated PSA is termed a "false positive." There are also possible dangers associated with biopsies, including excessive bleeding and infection. Because of these 2 facts some physicians suggest that male patients follow a plan of "watchful waiting." Under such a plan the physician tracks the patient's raised PSA during a time spanning of months or even years. They might additionally recommend going on medication for infection to check whether the treatment reduces the PSA back to normal levels.
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One of the issues with this strategy is that a physician may wait too long before recommending a biopsy. As the PSA increases the probability increases that the rising levels are due to prostate cancer, and so does the likelihood that the cancer has metastasized. Men with prostate cancer who have a PSA concentration lower than 10 ng/mL have a seventy to eighty percent chance of having organ-confined disease, as opposed to fifty percent for those with PSA levels 10 to 50 ng/mL, and only twenty five percent with higher PSA levels
Treatment options for advanced prostate cancer may include hormone therapy, radiation therapy, orchiectomy (the surgical removal of the testicles), and maybe even chemotherapy. Treatment will normally cause the PSA to drop significantly for some time. Over time, however, treatment will no longer hold the cancer at bay. At this point the cancer will again commence spreading. This is typically associated with a new rise in the PSA level. When treatment ceases to be effective, prostate cancer is fatal. This year, an estimated 90,000 men will die in the U.S. due to advanced prostate cancer.
It is for this reason that physicians generally recommend that a biopsy should be done in case a male patient's blood test indicates a PSA level above 4. ng/ml. A biopsy is a procedure, normally done using local anesthesia, whereby a probe is inserted into the rectum. The probe contains a needle which is used to take samples of the prostate tissue. Since the biopsy consists of samples, it is possible that the biopsy may yield a false negative, missing the cancer. This is why doctors also normally advise that biopsies be redone every few months should the PSA levels remain elevated, even after treatment for other possible causes.
By taking a "watchful waiting" approach and merely keeping track of a male patient's elevated PSA, a physician puts the patient at risk of letting time go by while the cancer gets to an advanced, possibly untreatable, stage. The doctor might be liable under a medical malpractice claim.
Author Resource:-
Mr. Hernandez is an attorney accepting medical malpractice cases. To find out more prostate cancer and other cancer matters including breast cancer visit the websites
