Women in Chicago and throughout the entire country might be well aware of the importance of doing breast self-examinations on a monthly basis in order to make sure that they have not developed any odd lumps or changes in their breasts that could be cancerous. Breast cancer may not always be avoidable, but women and doctors can do their part to try to catch and treat cancer before it progresses.
When women do notice something odd after performing their monthly self-exams, they often seek treatment from their doctors to determine whether or not they have cancer. Many women trust that their doctors will perform necessary tests and evaluations in order to properly diagnose breast cancer, but doctors sometimes break this trust by failing to correctly read the results of tests or by failing to address warning signs of cancer. This can result in a missed diagnosis or a delayed cancer diagnosis.
When cancer is not diagnosed as soon as possible, a patient’s odds at beating cancer could be diminished.
Although one Illinois woman has not lost her battle with breast cancer, she has chosen to file a lawsuit against her doctor for failing to diagnose her cancer in a timely manner. Since the delayed diagnosis, she has suffered physically and mentally. The woman has incurred medical expenses from treating her breast cancer and has also incurred lost wages as a result of not being able to work because of her illness. Had her cancer been diagnosed when it should have been, the woman might not have had to experience so much pain and suffering, her lawsuit contends.
According to the woman’s lawsuit, she had a mammogram in April 2001 to check for abnormal cells and tissue. However, a doctor who read the mammogram determined that no other tests or evaluations needed to be conducted based on the results of the mammogram. The woman later learned that the doctor had not read the mammogram correctly. Instead, the mammogram indicated that there were abnormalities that could have been analyzed further by a sonogram.
The woman is hoping to recover more than $200,000 in damages resulting from the doctor’s mistake.
Source: The Madison-St. Clair Record, “Breast cancer was delayed, woman claims in suit,” Kelly Holleran, May 1, 2012
