Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women. Each year, more than 40,000 women in the US die from breast cancer. Early detection with routine breast cancer screening followed immediately by appropriate treatment could prevent many of these deaths. A doctor’s failure to recommend routine breast cancer screening for his female patients and follow up on abnormal test results may constitute medical malpractice.

breast cancer screening

Cancer specialists generally recommend that a doctor order an annual mammogram and perform an annual clinical breast exam for all patients age 40 and older, even if the patient has no family history of breast cancer and has no symptoms. A doctor should perform a breast exam every 3 years for patients ages 20-30. If a patient is at moderate (15-20%) lifetime risk, the physician should consider adding an annual MRI as part of the screening process. For patients with high (>20%) lifetime risk, the physician should add an annual MRI to the screening process. Lifetime risk is assessed based on factors such as family history, the presence of genetic mutations, breast characteristics, and personal medical history.

A clinical breast exam determines if there are any palpable lumps or other abnormalities in the breast that may indicate the presence of cancer. Mammography and MRI use imaging technology to identify changes or masses in the breast that may not be detected on a clinical breast exam. If an abnormality is found, a biopsy (breast tissue sample) is done to rule out or confirm the presence of cancer.

The progression of breast cancer is tracked through stages.

Once breast cancer is diagnosed, the progression of the cancer is classified using a five-level staging system:

• Stage 0 (also known as carcinoma in situ): There are 2 types: (1) Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which is a non-invasive condition that involves the presence of abnormal cells confined to the lining of the breast duct, and (2) Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS), which involves the presence of abnormal cells in the lobules of the breast.
• Stage I: The tumor is smaller than 2 cm and has not spread outside the breast.
• IIA Internship: (1) no tumor is found in the breast but cancer is found in at least one of the axillary lymph nodes (lymph nodes under the arm), (2) the tumor is 2 cm or smaller and has spread to the armpit lymph nodes, or (3) the tumor is between 2 cm and 5 cm and has not spread to the axillary lymph nodes.
• Stage IIB: Either (1) the tumor is between 2 cm and 5 cm and has spread to the axillary lymph nodes, or (2) the tumor is larger than 5 cm and has not spread to the axillary lymph nodes.
• Stage IIIA: (1) no tumor is found in the breast but cancer is found in axillary lymph nodes that are attached to each other or to other structures, or cancer may be found in lymph nodes near the breastbone, (2) the tumor is 2 cm or smaller and cancer has spread to axillary lymph nodes that are attached to each other or to other structures, or cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone, (3) the tumor is larger than 2 centimeters but not larger than 5 centimeters and cancer has spread to axillary lymph nodes that are attached to each other or to other structures, or cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone, or (4) the tumor is larger than 5 centimeters and cancer has spread to axillary lymph nodes that may be attached to each other or to other structures, or cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone.
• Stage IIIB:The tumor may be any size and the cancer (1) has spread to the chest wall and/or skin of the breast, or (2) may have spread to axillary lymph nodes which may be attached to each other or to other structures , or the cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone.
• Stage IIIC:The cancer is operable if it is found (1) in ten or more axillary lymph nodes, (2) found in lymph nodes below the clavicle, or (3) found in both axillary lymph nodes and lymph nodes near the breastbone. The cancer is inoperable if it has spread to lymph nodes above the clavicle.
• Stage IV: Cancer has spread to other organs in the body, usually the bones, lungs, liver, or brain.

Treatment and prognosis of breast cancer

Cancer specialists associate a statistic called the 5-year survival rate with each stage of cancer. This statistic reflects, for each stage, the percentage of women who will survive 5 years or more after a diagnosis with that particular stage.

For Stage 0, treatment options include breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy or partial mastectomy) with sentinel lymph node biopsy or lymph node dissection and radiation therapy, mastectomy (for women at high risk, a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy may be an option). option), and/or hormone therapy (such as tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor). The 5-year survival rate is almost 100% for stage 0.

For Stage I, treatment options include lumpectomy (breast-conserving surgery) with sentinel lymph node biopsy or lymph node dissection and radiation, mastectomy, and chemotherapy and/or hormone therapy. The 5-year survival rate is also nearly 100% for Stage 1.

For stage II, treatment options include breast-conserving surgery (a lumpectomy or modified mastectomy) with sentinel lymph node biopsy or lymph node dissection and radiation, mastectomy, and chemotherapy and/or hormone therapy. The 5-year survival rate is 92% for stage IIA and 81% for stage IIB.

For stage IIIA, treatment options remain the same as for stage II. The 5-year relative survival rate is 67% for stage IIIA

For stages IIIB and IIIC, treatment options vary depending on whether the cancer is operable. Chemotherapy is usually the initial treatment to try to shrink the tumor. If the tumor is operable, treatment options may include breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy or modified mastectomy) or mastectomy with sentinel lymph node biopsy or lymph node dissection, radiation, and chemotherapy and/or hormone therapy. If the cancer is inoperable, the 5-year survival rate is 54% for stage IIIB.

For stage IV, treatment typically consists of radiation therapy, hormonal therapy and/or systemic chemotherapy, tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy, radiation therapy, surgery and pain-relieving medications, and clinical trials. The 5-year survival rate is reduced to approximately 20%.

Failure to detect breast cancer may constitute medical malpractice

Unfortunately, even though the statistics make it abundantly clear that early detection through breast cancer screening saves lives, there are still doctors who fail to detect breast cancer in their patients. They do not perform breast exams and do not order mammograms. And some doctors ignore abnormal breast exam results and even abnormal mammogram results. By the time cancer is discovered, often because the patient sees a different doctor who ultimately performs a clinical breast exam or orders a mammogram, or the patient begins to experience back pain or other symptoms, breast cancer sinus has already advanced to a Stage III. or even in Stage IV. The prognosis is now very different for this woman than it would have been if the breast cancer had been detected early through routine breast cancer screening. As a result of a doctor’s failure to advise a patient to have routine screening, or to follow up on an abnormal mammogram or MRI result, breast cancer is now much more advanced and women has suffered a “loss of luck” from a better recovery. In other words, she now has a lower chance of surviving breast cancer.

Contact a lawyer today

If you or a family member suffered a delay in the diagnosis of breast cancer because a doctor did not recommend a routine exam or did not follow up on a breast exam or abnormal mammogram results, you should contact an attorney at immediate.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal or medical advice. You should not act, or refrain from acting, based on information on this website without seeking professional legal advice. A competent attorney with experience in medical malpractice can help you determine if you can bring a claim for a delayed diagnosis of breast cancer due to a doctor’s failure to offer breast cancer screening. There is a time limit in cases like these, so don’t wait to call.