Breast Cancer Attorneys

In Washington & Oregon

WARNING SIGNS

All women need to be on the alert for the signs of breast cancer. As many as 1 in every 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point during her lifetime. Breast cancer can be treated much more effectively during the early stages of the disease, so it is important to catch it EARLY. Some diagnostic tests need to be done by a doctor, but here are the actions you can take to safeguard your breast health:

PERFORM MONTHLY SELF-EXAMINATIONS OF YOUR BREASTS

Look for the following changes:

• Breast lump or breast mass - usually painless and firm or hard;
• Lump or mass in the armpit;
• A change in the size or shape of one breast;
• Abnormal nipple discharge;
• Change in appearance or sensation of one nipple;
• Breast pain on one side.

If you have any concerns about your breast health, immediately tell your doctor.

ROLE OF YOUR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL

In addition to self-care, your doctor has a duty to screen you for breast cancer.

• The doctor should perform a manual breast exam annually on women 40 years of age or older;
• The doctor should refer this same group of women for annual mammograms;
• If you have a family history of breast cancer, your exams and mammograms should begin earlier. Consult your doctor.

DIAGNOSIS

Any suspicious finding from the manual exam or the mammogram needs to be thoroughly investigated. Cancer must be definitely diagnosed or ruled out. The tools the doctor has to make the diagnosis include:

• Mammogram;
• Ultrasound;
• Biopsy.

DELAYED DIAGNOSIS OF BREAST CANCER AND FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE BREAST CANCER

Each year, many cases of breast cancer are detected much later than they should have been. The warning signs were there. What happened?

• The doctor fails to perform a manual exam during yearly checkups;
• The doctor fails to order the appropriate tests, even after a suspicious lump is brought to his attention;
• The doctor diagnoses the lump as benign or as a cyst without ordering the appropriate tests;
• The mammogram is misread or misinterpreted by the radiologist;
• The biopsy is performed incorrectly and the cancerous tissue is not sampled;
• The biopsy is misread or misinterpreted by the lab;
• The doctor relies too heavily on a negative mammogram, even though the patient has suspicious symptoms;
• The doctor relies too heavily on age as a predictive factor, and ignores a younger woman's symptoms.

WHY DOES A DELAYED DIAGNOSIS MATTER?

As time goes along, the stage of the cancer increases. The lower the stage of cancer, the less treatment the woman needs, and the greater the chance that she will survive the disease.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I SUSPECT THAT THERE WAS A DELAY IN DIAGNOSING MY BREAST CANCER?

If you or someone you love is suffering from cancer (or has recently died from cancer) and you are concerned that there was not a timely diagnosis of the condition, contact Fuller & Fuller, Attorneys. We will give you a prompt and confidential assessment of whether you have a claim. There is no charge for this assessment.

BREAST CANCER TREATMENTS

Which treatment is best depends on the stage of the cancer and a variety of factors which need to be thoroughly discussed with the woman's oncologist (cancer specialist.) Probably, a woman's breast cancer will be treated in one or more of the following ways:

• Surgery, either a lumpectomy (removal of the lump) or mastectomy (removal of the breast);
• Radiation;
• Chemotherapy;
• Hormonal drug therapy.

BREAST CANCER RISK FACTORS

In most cases, the cause of the breast cancer will never be known. Many women with breast cancer have no known risk factors. However, if you do have one or more of the following risk factors, your cancer risk may be higher.

• Family members who have had breast cancer;
• You are over 50 years of age;
• You began your menstrual periods before age 12 and went through menopause after age 55;
• Obesity is a risk factor according to some studies, although not according to others;
• Prior exposure to radiation treatment, particularly in the chest;
• Birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy slightly increase the risk;
• Some studies indicate pesticides and other industrial products may increase the risk.

BREAST CANCER RESOURCES

You may find some of the following links helpful. Fuller & Fuller does not endorse the information in the links.

American Cancer Society
http://www.cancer.org

National Cancer Institute
http://www.nci.nih.gov

The National Breast Cancer Coalition
http://www.natlbcc.org

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation
http://www.bcrfcure.org

BreastCancer.org
http://www.breastcancer.org

The Breast Cancer Site
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com

 

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Fuller & Fuller is a family of medical malpractice and serious injury lawyers serving residents of Washington and Oregon.