Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, except for skin cancers. It accounts for about 30% (or 1 in 3) of all new female cancers each year. Around 310,720 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women. You can find additional stats from the American Cancer Society.

You may come to Gillette & Izzo Law Office feeling powerless after a breast cancer diagnosis. The negligence of a medical professional not diagnosing or misdiagnosing your breast cancer has left you devastated. Treatment choices have been reduced due to misreporting or a lack of reporting the results of a mammogram.

Syracuse medical malpractice lawyers Josh Gillette and Janet Izzo empower their clients to be their best advocates. When you meet them, they will educate you and provide the necessary knowledge to hold a negligent medical professional accountable.

Breast Cancer Symptoms

The first step in a potential breast cancer misdiagnosis case is to understand what symptoms of breast cancer should have been detected by a medical provider but were not. If the symptoms of breast cancer were noticeable but overlooked, or diagnosed as something else entirely, then it could mean that you have a valid breast cancer misdiagnosis claim or lawsuit to pursue.

The most typical symptoms of breast cancer include:

• Changes in breast size, shape, or appearance,
• Breast lumps that grow or were not there previously,
• Thickened or unusual feeling in the breast tissue,
• Redness to the skin on or around the breast.

Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Mammography uses low-energy X-rays to examine a breast. So-called breast health clinics and medical imaging groups tout their cutting-edge technology for detecting cancer. Over time, medical professionals have determined this diagnostic and screening tool to be the least effective in the detection of breast cancer. Some consider it no longer effective.

Mammogram results from these facilities often result in the reporting of false negatives that delay the diagnosis and put the health of a patient at risk. Conversely, false positives lead to not only anxiety and fear but also unnecessary surgeries.

To make matters worse, staff members often fail to follow up on mammography results, a life-changing oversight if a test detected breast cancer. Some women may interpret no news as good news.

We can recover compensation for you if your current doctor:

• Failed to order a timely mammogram or biopsy,
• Failed to properly read or interpret your mammogram findings,
• Failed to properly perform a breast tissue biopsy,
• Failed to then properly interpret your biopsy results.

The good news is at this time there are more than 4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. This includes women still being treated and those who have completed treatment. You can check out the latest breast cancer survival rate data from the American Cancer Society.

Be Your Own Proactive Advocate

If you have gone in for a breast screening, you must be proactive in getting the results. Assumptions and delays only limit your options and your life expectancy if you are diagnosed with breast cancer.

Protect your health by getting the answers you need. Assert your legal rights by having a documented copy of the findings.

Let An Experienced Cancer Attorney Be Your Ally

If you’re worried about who will take care of your family when you’re gone, or if you’re worried about how you’ll pay for your medical bills, learn more about the compensation you might be able to recover if your doctor failed to make a timely diagnosis of your breast cancer.

You probably have questions about your legal options going forward, and we are here to answer them all. We offer a free initial consultation regarding your breast cancer misdiagnosis. Complete our online intake form or call Gillette & Izzo Law Office in Syracuse at 315-421-1000.

At our Upstate New York law office, we take all cases involving a delayed breast cancer diagnosis or misdiagnosis on a contingency basis. This means that you do not pay us any legal fees unless we recover compensation in your case.