Pittsburgh Medical Malpractice Blog

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Prevention and early detection is the key to surviving breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women with the exception of skin cancers, and the second cause of cancer deaths for women. If detected early, there is a 98 percent chance of a five-year survival. However, only approximately 22% of women are diagnosed early.

Although there are several risk factors that may increase your chance of developing breast cancer, including age, personal or family history, alcohol use, obesity and ethnic background, it is important to note that just because you may have a risk factor for breast cancer doesn't mean you will contract the disease. There are some things you can do to lower your risk for developing breast cancer, such as eating healthy, exercising and limiting your alcohol consumption. However, early detection is key to surviving the disease.

So what can you do to assist in the early diagnosis of of breast cancer?

·Get a mammogram. All women ages 40 and older should have an annual mammogram and clinical breast examination.
·Women in their 20’s and 30’s should have a clinical breast exam at least once every three years.
·Perform a monthly self-breast examination. For women ages 20 and older this must be a monthly routine.

Sometimes, even when you take all the proper measures to reduce your risks, a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of breast cancer by a medical professional can still occur. If you or a loved one has breast cancer, you should consider discussing your case with one of our skilled Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers. At Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. our Pittsburgh medical malpractice lawyers and staff can determine whether there has been either a failure to diagnosis or a delayed diagnosis of breast cancer. Our on-staff medical doctors know what questions to ask to quickly determine whether you or your loved one is the victim of medical malpractice. Contact our law firm today for your FREE consultation.

At some point, we have all relied on and trusted the skill, education, and experience of a physician to diagnose and treat an illness or injury. Most of the time, our trust is well placed. On occasion, however, physicians make mistakes. A set of symptoms can be overlooked, an x-ray is misread, or the physician is too busy to take the time to listen to the patient’s complaints. Such incidents can cause devastating delays in treatment. In cases involving cancer, the delay can allow the disease to progress to stages that are incurable, and can mean the difference between life and death. Statistics show that around 40% of all medical malpractice claims result from the failure of medical personnel to diagnose a significant disease process.

Some of the most serious diseases and/or conditions have insignificant symptoms and cause no major discomfort in early stages. Unfortunately, some of the most serious diseases are often the ones that go undetected for long periods of time. Listed below are some of the diseases/conditions that frequently are not diagnosed in a timely fashion:

Ovarian cancer
Prostate cancer
Cervical cancer
Breast Cancer
Pulmonary embolism
Appendicitis
Bacterial meningitis
Heart Attack
Stroke

If you or a family member is suffering from a condition due to the healthcare professional's failure to diagnose, please contract Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. Failure to diagnosis and/or a misdiagnosis constitutes negligence and the innocent victim of such negligence deserves compensation for the resulting financial burdens and pain and suffering. A medical malpractice claim can be very complicated and only a lawyer that is experienced with medical malpractice cases can properly prosecute your claim. Our attorneys have years of experience with failure to diagnose cases. At Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. we fully understand the complexities involved in evaluating medical malpractice cases. For over 15 years, we have employed two full-time medical doctors who assist us in evaluating medical malpractice cases. Contact us today for your FREE consultation.