Delay in Diagnosis of Breast Cancer
FACTS:
- About 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.
- Each year about 275,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in the United States.
- In women under 45, breast cancer is more common in African American women than white women.
- African American women are more likely to die of breast cancer than white women.
- A woman’s risk of breast cancer is nearly twice as high if she has a mother or sister with breast cancer.
- The earlier a woman’s breast cancer is diagnosed and treatment is started, the better the odds of becoming a breast cancer survivor.
Raymond & Raymond, Ltd. Attorneys have handled many delay-in-diagnosis breast cancer cases. We have unfortunately seen too many of the following types of cases:
- Woman sees her Internist or Gynecologist with a new breast lump, but the doctor fails to send her for breast imaging (Mammogram and Ultrasound) or refer her to a Breast Surgeon, and her new breast cancer is not diagnosed.
- Woman regularly gets her annual Mammogram, but due to poor positioning by Technologists, the entire breast is not filmed and the cancer is missed.
- Woman gets her annual Mammogram, but the doctor reading the test misses a new breast cancer.
- Woman with family history of breast cancers or the BRCA gene mutation is not sent for regular breast Mammograms or advised that she is at increased risk for breast cancer and a new breast cancer is missed.
Our attorneys have seen the terrible price of these mistakes on families, who lose their most important member, the Mother. We have seen Breast Cancer patients bravely fight through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, suffering from the pain and disability of treatment and side-effects, only to lose the battle to an advanced cancer. These are truly heartbreaking cases, and while a lawsuit will never make up for the loss, there is some satisfaction in achieving justice for the family.
