Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer

Breast cancer and skin cancer are the most commonly diagnosed cancers among American women. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women. About 1 in 8 U.S. women (approximately 12.4%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. According to the American Cancer Society’s 2018 estimates there will be about 266,120 new cases of invasive breast cancer that will be diagnosed in women and 63,960 cases of non-invasive breast cancer.

While for some age groups the death rates have dropped, for others they have remained stable. The decrease is attributed to earlier diagnosis through screening, increased awareness, and improved treatments. Today there are more than 3.1 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S.

While some men and women experience symptoms, many breast cancer patients show no symptoms. That is why early detection, testing, and screening is so important. Common screening tools include mammograms, breast ultrasounds, breast MRI Scans, and new breast imaging. Some patients also receive a breast biopsy (fine-needle aspiration biopsy, large-core biopsy, or open surgical biopsy).

Failure to diagnose or a misdiagnosis of breast cancer can be a potential cause for professional liability (negligence) known in Florida as a Medical Malpractice Claim. This may be as a result of diagnostic errors or a missed diagnosis by gynecologist, OB-GYN, radiologist, pathologist, general surgeon and sometimes family practitioners. This can be due to the practitioner’s failure to diagnose the breast cancer during an examination or misinterpreting the results of radiological tests or failing to get clean margins during the surgical removal of the cancer or misreading the biopsy slides. Improper breast screening results can indicate no cancer, when cancer is present or indicate cancer, when no cancer is present.

Cancer is a progressive disease. Any delay, undiagnosed or untreated breast cancer is not good and can greatly impact treatment and prognosis. Misdiagnosis and delay of breast cancer can lead to extreme breast pain, fatigue, breast removal (mastectomy), breast reconstructive surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and even death.

Learning you have breast cancer is a difficult experience. Trial Attorney Tami Wolfe will help you determine if the delayed diagnosis of your cancer lead to a worsening of your disease. While breast cancer cases are highly complex, Attorney Wolfe has the experience and has successfully litigated medical malpractice claims. She represents clients throughout South Florida including Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Weston and Sunrise.

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with breast cancer that you believe should have been diagnosed sooner, contact Trial Attorney Tami Wolfe online or call her at (954) 791-0477 for a FREE consultation.