One factor can cause mammograms to miss a cancer diagnosis of 40% to 50% of the time: dense breasts. However, this does not mean that doctors are not responsible for missed or delayed diagnoses. In fact, they have a heightened duty to take additional steps beyond ordering a mammogram, especially because those with dense breasts are more likely to develop breast cancer than those without.
If you received a negative mammogram result only to discover later that you do have breast cancer, you may have a legal right to hold your healthcare provider responsible. Contact Powers & Santola, LLP today for a free consultation to discuss your case in private.
What Is Dense Breast Tissue?
Breasts are comprised of fatty tissue and fibroglandular tissue (lobules, ducts, and connective tissue). Dense breast tissue contains more fibrous or glandular tissue and less fat, making the breasts feel firmer. While this is a common and normal condition, it can make detecting cancer more difficult, as the density can hide tumors. Nearly half of women over 40 have dense breasts.
Dense breasts are not determined by size and cannot be felt by hand. They can only be identified via a mammogram, where they appear white and opaque, while fat appears dark and transparent.
Various factors can contribute to dense breasts, including genetics, a lower body mass index, and hormonal medications.
Why Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer After a Delayed Breast Cancer Diagnosis Related to Dense Breasts
Cases involving delayed breast cancer diagnosis can be complicated. Cases involving dense breasts are even more so. According to the Pink Fund, there are no specific guidelines established by the United States Task Force Services, the American Cancer Society, or the National Comprehensive Cancer Network to assist healthcare providers in deciding which supplemental imaging to use for women with dense breast tissue.
Additionally, there is not a single standard risk assessment tool to determine a patient’s risk for breast cancer. Even though breast density is one of the most common risk factors for breast cancer, it is not included in every diagnostic model, such as the GAIL and Claus models, which physicians commonly use to detect breast cancer. These factors make it more difficult to show that a particular medical provider acted negligently in how they responded to a particular patient’s case.
Because there is no mandated health insurance coverage for supplemental imaging for breast cancer screening, insurance companies often do not cover these additional imaging tests, which can cost upwards of $1,000. This translates to many patients not receiving the follow-up testing that would help accurately and timely diagnose breast cancer.
You must be able to show that your healthcare provider acted negligently in how they handled your medical care.
Why Should I Choose Powers & Santola, LLP for My Medical Malpractice Case
Knowing that you need legal representation is the first step. The next step is selecting the right one. The medical malpractice and personal injury law firm of Powers & Santola, LLP sets itself apart through our:
- Experience: Our lawyers have over three decades of experience fighting for malpractice victims and their families in Upstate New York.
- Results: Our law firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in life-changing compensation for our clients. When you need the best results, turn to Powers & Santola, LLP for legal assistance.
- Focus: Our attorneys work exclusively on medical malpractice and personal injury cases, which has allowed us to develop an in-depth knowledge and the skills necessary to secure results.
- Preparation: Powers & Santola, LLP meticulously investigates cases and prepares them for litigation. This allows us to negotiate from a position of strength and knowledge.
- Reputation: Due to our impressive results, commitment to client advocacy, and peer reviews, the law firm of Powers & Santola, LLP has been recognized as one of America’s Best Law Firms. Multiple attorneys from our firm have been recognized as Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year and Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America, the most trusted and relied-upon guide to legal excellence. We are also rated Top 10 in Upstate New York by Super Lawyers, a 10.0 Superb Rating by Avvo, and Top 100 Trial Lawyers by The National Trial Lawyers, as well as members of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. This reputation precedes us at the negotiating table and in the courtroom.
- Resources: Medical malpractice cases typically require the assistance of expert witnesses who can provide a foundation for the case with a certificate of merit and valuable testimony during trial. We have a network of experts we rely on to provide additional support for our clients’ cases.
Arrange a free and confidential consultation by contacting our firm today.
How Does Dense Breast Tissue Affect Mammogram Results?
Mammograms are the most common tool used to detect breast cancer. Women with dense breasts are more likely to develop breast cancer, but mammograms can miss cancer in almost half of cases involving dense breasts. Patients may receive false negatives, in which they are told there is no cancer when there really is.
Dense tissue can hide cancer on mammograms, as medical providers often rely on color contrast to identify it. Still, dense breasts appear white and opaque on mammograms, as they do with tumors, making it more difficult for healthcare providers to identify cancer accurately. Dense tissue contributes to an increased number of diagnoses. Accurate results are markedly higher for women with extremely dense breasts. Additionally, breast density can change over time, making it even more important to identify this problem.
Because of the problems widely noted for making cancer diagnosis more difficult for patients with dense tissue, 38 states have passed laws requiring that women be notified of their breast tissue density results in a mammogram report following this procedure. The notification usually encourages patients to discuss supplemental screening options with their healthcare professionals. New York is one of those states.
What Should Healthcare Providers Do When Dealing with Dense Breast Tissue Cases
Doctors may claim that dense breast tissue prevents accurate mammogram readings or clinical evaluations. However, this is not a conclusive result. Instead, it underscores the need to take additional actions when dense breast tissue is suspected, including:
Calculating the Lifetime Risk of Breast Cancer
Patients can use the Tyrer-Cuzick model to calculate their lifetime risk of breast cancer, which considers various factors, such as:
- Age
- Height and weight
- Menstruation history
- Previous diagnoses of cancer
- Childbirth
- History of the use of any hormone replacements
- Known mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes
- History of previous biopsies
- Breast density
- Family history
Patients can print out their risk score and discuss it with their physician.
Ordering Additional Testing
Patients with dense breast tissue can discuss the possibility of additional testing with their physician, which may include breast cancer screening and genetic testing. Possible tests could include the following:
- Whole-breast ultrasonography: Whole-breast ultrasonography is a non-invasive and radiation-free imaging test that uses sound waves to create images of the entire breast tissue. This supplemental screening tool is sometimes used for women with dense breast tissue, especially to detect small cancers or lesions that mammograms can miss. It can help identify whether a lump is a cyst or a solid tumor. Ultrasound imaging can improve cancer detection when used in conjunction with mammography, but it is also associated with higher false-positive rates.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): MRIs use powerful magnets, radio waves, and a computer to create detailed pictures of the body’s internal structures to diagnose various conditions. MRI has higher sensitivity than mammograms or ultrasounds alone for detecting breast cancer in the high-risk population.
- Molecular breast imaging: MBI is a functional nuclear medicine exam that uses a radioactive tracer that makes tumors appear as bright spots on the testing machine. This technology helps identify three to four times more cancers in dense breasts than mammograms alone. This screening tool is sometimes used for high-risk patients who cannot tolerate conventional mammography.
- Tomosynthesis: This three-dimensional mammography uses an X-ray tube that moves in an arc over the breast, allowing healthcare providers to obtain images from multiple angles while the breast is compressed. These images are used to create 3D images that can help providers better diagnose breast cancer. This tool is associated with a 29% reduction in false-positive recall rates.
Doctors can use tailored screening, considering the patient’s breast density as noted on the mammogram and lifetime breast cancer risk to guide patients toward the option that makes the most sense for their particular situation.
The Consequences of False Negatives
When patients are informed by their medical team that they do not have cancer, they may continue with their lives and not take any additional action. During this time, the cancer may spread. When cancer spreads, it is harder to treat. Survival rates drastically decrease as cancer metastasizes, going from local status to distant.
A late-stage diagnosis can prove fatal. The cancer may be inoperable. If treatment is possible, it is almost always more invasive and expensive than if the cancer were caught early. When preventable late-stage diagnoses occur, injured patients or their loved ones can file a medical malpractice case against the healthcare provider responsible for the late diagnosis.
How to Prove Medical Malpractice in a Dense Breast Cancer Case
Patients pursuing medical malpractice cases are responsible for proving each legal element of the case by the preponderance of the evidence, including the following:
- Duty of care: The duty of care is established by the doctor-patient relationship. Your healthcare provider is required to provide treatment at the same standard as another medical provider in the same specialty area and region would provide under similar circumstances.
- Breach of duty: The breach of the standard of care is what the defendant did – or failed to do – that deviated from the standard of care, such as failing to order additional testing for a patient with dense breast tissue.
- Causation: Causation establishes the link between the medical mistake and the injury.
- Damages: Damages are the losses you incurred due to the medical error, including financial harm or emotional distress.
An experienced attorney from our local law firm can help gather the evidence that you need to establish your personal injury claim.
Damages You Can Recover in a New York Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
Medical malpractice victims can seek compensation for the various losses they experienced due to the delayed diagnosis of breast cancer, including the following:
- Medical expenses: You can seek compensation for additional medical bills you incurred, chemotherapy, radiation, diagnostic tests, hospital stays, surgical costs, and payment for future medical expenses.
- Lost income: You can seek compensation for your past, current, and future lost wages and any reduction in your long-term earning power.
- Pain and suffering: You can pursue compensation for non-economic damages you suffer, including physical pain and suffering.
- Mental anguish: When a healthcare provider is responsible for you receiving a preventable late-stage diagnosis, you can seek compensation for your mental anguish and emotional distress.
- Disfigurement and scarring: You could be awarded compensation for disfigurement and scarring.
- Loss of enjoyment of life: You deserve fair compensation for the reduction in your quality of life caused by a delayed cancer diagnosis.
An experienced attorney from our firm can build your medical malpractice case to maximize your compensation.
Contact Powers & Santola, LLP for a Free Consultation
If you suspect your healthcare provider was responsible for your delayed diagnosis of breast cancer, Powers & Santola, LLP can help. We have extensive experience demonstrating how Upstate New York medical practitioners violate the applicable standard of care and holding them responsible.Our reputation precedes us, allowing us to negotiate fair settlements on our clients’ behalf or to take the case to trial so a judge or jury decides how much to award them. Contact us for a free initial consultation.
