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Old 02-28-2006, 10:15 AM   #1
RobinP
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 943
Lightbulb Breast Lumps in Young Women

Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: upstate NY
Posts: 641


Breast Lumps in Young Women
A surgeon, misdiagnosed a cancerous breast lump that I had as benign at five separate appointments spread over seventeen months. He relied on my negative mammogram, never informing me that it had an error rate up to 30% in young pre-menopausal women, like me. Additionally, he MISINTERPRETED my clinical breast exams and my breast ultrasounds, repeatedly erroneously informing me that they were NOT suspicious for cancer and that my lump was only cystic. Finally, he never informed me of or offered me the most accurate core or excisional biopsies for my ever-enlarging and persisting breast lump.Instead, he performed the sub-optimal fine needle aspirate biopsy, informing me it would adequately assess my breast lump. Due to his many negligent errors, I suffered a POORER medical/surgical outcome and WORSE prognosis that could have been prevented had he done his job correctly.

After my misdiagnosis, I learned the pathologist misread my initial fine needle aspirate as adequate for evaluation and benign when it was difficult to read and cancerous.When my pathologist was questioned about her misread pathology on the fine needle biopsy at legal hearings, she denied error, claiming she read the slides accurately. However, the slides were verified as misread and cancerous by four expert pathologists.

I've really lost confidence in doctors due to my pathologist's and surgeon's errors in misdiagnosing my breast cancer and denial of their medical mistakes. What they put me through was very difficult for me and my family. Honesty concerning their errors would have really helped me in coping with my misdiagnosis; however, that didn't happen.Nothing can reverse the hands of time to give me the early cancer diagnosis that I so desperately needed and deserved. I hope that other young women with breast lumps will not suffer as I have because doctor negligence and denial of medical errors and I have the following suggestions...

To other young women with breast lumps:


Since my misdiagnosis, I have learned that early 75% of young women, under 45 years old, who present to their physician(s) with a self-discovered palpable breast lump(s) and with a negative mammogram will ultimately suffer a physician related delayed diagnosis! In fact, if you are a young woman, you are nearly twice as likely to suffer a physician related delayed breast cancer diagnosis than your older counterparts. This is because many physicians often assume a benign diagnosis in younger women and often fail to perform the appropriate diagnostic tests, thinking breast cancer occurs in only older women. Consequently, young women with breast lumps should obtain second and even third medical opinions to avoid a physician related misdiagnosis. Don't be a fool and think a misdiagnosis can't happen to you.A breast misdiagnosis can happen to any young woman. I was only in my thirties when I suffered a 17 month delayed diagnosis by trusted, well known, experienced physicians.

I only wished I could turn back the hands of time to prevent my delayed diagnosis that spread to my lymph node and possibly to distant sites. However, that is impossible. So I urge those with breast lump(s) to get second and even third medical expert opinions. Perhaps if just one person is saved a misdiagnosis via of this profile message, some of my sorrow will turn into joy.

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Robin
2002- dx her2 positive DCIS/bc TX Mast, herceptin chemo
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