Breast Cancer Cases

Misdiagnosis of Breast Cancer

By Art Schwarzwaelder

Despite improvements in screening for and treatment of breast cancer, many women suffer needless injuries and death due to errors in diagnosis and treatment. Examples of the type of negligence occurring in this area include:

Failing to properly interpret a mammogram (x-ray of the breast);
Disregarding a persistent and palpable breast lump or other abnormal changes in the breast which may include dimpling of the skin, a change in the size or shape of one breast, inversion (inward turning) of the nipple when it previously tuned outward, or a discoloration of the skin of the breast;
Overreliance on a normal mammogram in a patient with a persistent and palpable breast lump;
Failing to order additional, indicated imaging or other tests including diagnostic mammogram, ultrasound, fine needle aspiration, or biopsy;
Failing to refer a patient with abnormal physical findings of the breast to a specialist such as a breast surgeon;
Misinterpretation by the pathologist of breast cytology (cells) or tissue specimens following needle or surgical biopsy;
Inadequate or inaccurate sampling of breast cytology or tissue by the physician performing the needle or surgical biopsy resulting in the cancer being missed;
Mismatch of pathology specimens (i.e. the pathology department mixes up and mislabels the specimens of two different patients, so that one patient is mistakenly thought to have cancer and undergoes unnecessary and disfiguring surgery, while the other patient is mistakenly thought to be cancer free);
Absent or poor communication between practitioners or with patients.

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