Breast cancer, if diagnosed and treated at an early stage, increasingly is a treatable disease. Unfortunately, in many cases, treatment does not begin in time to save the patient.
At Miller & Wagner, our attorneys investigate and present damage claims for misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of breast cancer. We offer a free initial consultation to discuss your case. With offices in Pacific City and Portland, our lawyers represent plaintiffs injured by medical negligence throughout Oregon and southwestern Washington.
Physician and Radiologist Malpractice in Delayed Diagnosis of Cancer
In any medical malpractice case involving breast cancer, the key legal question is whether the disease should have and could have been diagnosed earlier. At medical checkups, your doctor should ask you about symptoms and risk factors for breast cancer. Tests to diagnose cancer may include:
- Physical exams
- Mammography
- Breast MRI
- Breast ultrasound tests
- Breast biopsy
- CT or PET scan
If your doctor failed to diagnose your breast cancer at an early stage due to failure to order appropriate tests, test errors or misinterpretation of test results, you may have a case of malpractice. Once a tumor metastasizes, the cancer may spread into the lymph nodes or adjoining tissues, making treatment more difficult.