Do I have a case?

rene9

Hi, I would like some opinions on my case. Yes, I was diagnosed last Nov. (2009)with IDC and had a mastectomy in Dec. (2009)to remove the breast which is stage 2 and 2 lymph nodes involved out of 16. The history: I made an appt to inform my Gyn I felt a lump about 2 years ago and he felt it and said it was fibroidous breasts and no tests were ordered. I kept touching it and it kinda bothered me. So, last year I went to a new Gyn and she automatically ordered tests and I am here. So.......do I have grounds to look into creating a case? What do you think?


rene9

Mama G

I say yes
but what do I know... my doctor told me my swollen lymph nodes were related to something on my arm and nothing to do with my breast. Neither one of us could feel the 1.5 cm tumor growing deep inside my breast. Luckily I asked her to hook me up with a mammogram since we were leaving for Costa Rica in a week. and Unluckily here I am....
The group you never wanted to join.

God bless and Good luck
Lorraine

rene9

Mama G said:

I say yes
but what do I know... my doctor told me my swollen lymph nodes were related to something on my arm and nothing to do with my breast. Neither one of us could feel the 1.5 cm tumor growing deep inside my breast. Luckily I asked her to hook me up with a mammogram since we were leaving for Costa Rica in a week. and Unluckily here I am....
The group you never wanted to join.

God bless and Good luck
Lorraine

I asked
I asked for a mammogram, but he said I didn't need one bc it was fibroidous...And we could both feel the lump then-

Cindy Bear

doubtful
Hi Rene. I usually post on the uterine cancer board but I have a good friend who went thru treatment for BC recently and I check in here once and awhile. My mother passed away in June from Stage IV uterine cancer and I def. feel she was a victim of sloppy, negligent, cookie-cutter conveyor belt treatment A lot of mistakes on part of GP(Wrote everything off as old age.. arthritis, age related asthma, when she started bleeding, told her she had a kidney infecton.) Her gyn/onc. also screwed up. Anyhow after she passed, my sisters and I got her medical records and I went to see a lawyer. I am so glad I went to someone small, in practice for himself and one of his specialties is med. malpractice. He told me up front most cancer cases are lost. You not only have to have a "smoking gun" but you have to prove that it resulted in loss, a worse prognosis, different treatment.. i.e. a mastectomy vs. lumpectomy etc.. chemo vs. not having chemo.. There's also a time limit to bring suit and I was shocked because it's really not that long of a time frame. He gave me an example of a case he currently has. The woman was having some pains, went to her local hospital for a mammogram, 3 yrs in a row. 3 yrs in a row, she was "Fine". The next year she went to another hospital, and she had cancer. When they started looking at some of her old films, the cancer was def. there the last 2 mammograms. The very first mammogram was shady/suspicious. They radiologist never caught it. A warning ladies, don't get your mammograms at the same place all the time. Maybe alternate between two facilities . Her case is a case that can be won. Much more advanced cancer, a poorer prognois and the proof in black and white filmography. Anyhow he was very kind, listened to my spiel, but ultimately after reviewing her records with the onc specialist he uses, felt there was no case. I also called a very large firm, You know one with the full page ads in the phone book. They may as well have been called FU and FU because they were rude and obnoxious and basically told me , "that's cancer, that's chemotherapy, that's tough sh*T" Anyhow, I wish you luck and if you do consult a lawyer, do yourself a favor and go to someone small, not one of those big impersonal firms. They'll do a "phone consultation" it's very cold and impersonal. Take care. Cindy

rene9

Cindy Bear said:

doubtful
Hi Rene. I usually post on the uterine cancer board but I have a good friend who went thru treatment for BC recently and I check in here once and awhile. My mother passed away in June from Stage IV uterine cancer and I def. feel she was a victim of sloppy, negligent, cookie-cutter conveyor belt treatment A lot of mistakes on part of GP(Wrote everything off as old age.. arthritis, age related asthma, when she started bleeding, told her she had a kidney infecton.) Her gyn/onc. also screwed up. Anyhow after she passed, my sisters and I got her medical records and I went to see a lawyer. I am so glad I went to someone small, in practice for himself and one of his specialties is med. malpractice. He told me up front most cancer cases are lost. You not only have to have a "smoking gun" but you have to prove that it resulted in loss, a worse prognosis, different treatment.. i.e. a mastectomy vs. lumpectomy etc.. chemo vs. not having chemo.. There's also a time limit to bring suit and I was shocked because it's really not that long of a time frame. He gave me an example of a case he currently has. The woman was having some pains, went to her local hospital for a mammogram, 3 yrs in a row. 3 yrs in a row, she was "Fine". The next year she went to another hospital, and she had cancer. When they started looking at some of her old films, the cancer was def. there the last 2 mammograms. The very first mammogram was shady/suspicious. They radiologist never caught it. A warning ladies, don't get your mammograms at the same place all the time. Maybe alternate between two facilities . Her case is a case that can be won. Much more advanced cancer, a poorer prognois and the proof in black and white filmography. Anyhow he was very kind, listened to my spiel, but ultimately after reviewing her records with the onc specialist he uses, felt there was no case. I also called a very large firm, You know one with the full page ads in the phone book. They may as well have been called FU and FU because they were rude and obnoxious and basically told me , "that's cancer, that's chemotherapy, that's tough sh*T" Anyhow, I wish you luck and if you do consult a lawyer, do yourself a favor and go to someone small, not one of those big impersonal firms. They'll do a "phone consultation" it's very cold and impersonal. Take care. Cindy

Thanks!!!
Thanks Cindy so much for this advice. I will continue to at least look into it and keep you informed of the results. We actually have a family friend in Atlanta who will review it if I can't get a small attorney in the area I live. I'm really wondering how it works with the lump being there and the dr only feeling it and making a diagnosis and insisting no further tests were needed and when I have another dr review it, and they send me through all the tape it's cancer. Perhaps, if I had a mammogram then the lump was not so big (4cm) at that time or in an earlier stage and all I may have needed was a lumpectomy? Still think it's definitely worth a try. Thanks again!

rene9

Sunrae

rene9 said:

Thanks!!!
Thanks Cindy so much for this advice. I will continue to at least look into it and keep you informed of the results. We actually have a family friend in Atlanta who will review it if I can't get a small attorney in the area I live. I'm really wondering how it works with the lump being there and the dr only feeling it and making a diagnosis and insisting no further tests were needed and when I have another dr review it, and they send me through all the tape it's cancer. Perhaps, if I had a mammogram then the lump was not so big (4cm) at that time or in an earlier stage and all I may have needed was a lumpectomy? Still think it's definitely worth a try. Thanks again!

rene9

Rene, unless you're prepared to go thru a lot of hassle,effort and time I don't know if it will be worth the trouble. I used to work for an attorney and for the most part, medical mistakes are hard to prove. We had a client who had his stomach removed because the dr said he had cancer. However when the path report came back it proved he did not have cancer. He had a good case of malpractice but it took years and seem to drag on forever. He did win his case but by the time the attorneys took their fees I'm not sure he came out with much, not counting too all the work he missed and all the extra tests, reports, etc, depositions that were needed. It makes me angry when I hear cases like yours and I wish that you could have a better resolution. I wish you well whatever you decide and sorry this has happened to you.

jk1952

Sunrae said:

Rene, unless you're prepared to go thru a lot of hassle,effort and time I don't know if it will be worth the trouble. I used to work for an attorney and for the most part, medical mistakes are hard to prove. We had a client who had his stomach removed because the dr said he had cancer. However when the path report came back it proved he did not have cancer. He had a good case of malpractice but it took years and seem to drag on forever. He did win his case but by the time the attorneys took their fees I'm not sure he came out with much, not counting too all the work he missed and all the extra tests, reports, etc, depositions that were needed. It makes me angry when I hear cases like yours and I wish that you could have a better resolution. I wish you well whatever you decide and sorry this has happened to you.

Rene, I'm sorry this has happened to you; it really stinks. We all believe that doctors should be able to distinguish between when something is serious and when it isn't. Unfortunately, medicine is as much an art as it is a science, and sometimes symptoms appear to be benign when they aren't. Should he have ordered a mammogram: absolutely. But, it's also possible that a mammogram wouldn't have found anything at that time. Last year, I was diagnosed with a recurence, when the radiologist said the mammogram looked fine but my surgeon just wanted further tests done because my breasts were very dense and she couldn't read the films that well.

I agree with Sunrae. I've never seen anything progress quickly when lawyers need to be involved. Fo me, a lawsuit would be a real detriment to my recovery. There is a good life after breast cancer, and I wanted to get there as soon as I could. A lawsuit would have only delayed the peace that I now have about it.

Joyce

lanie940

Cindy Bear said:

doubtful
Hi Rene. I usually post on the uterine cancer board but I have a good friend who went thru treatment for BC recently and I check in here once and awhile. My mother passed away in June from Stage IV uterine cancer and I def. feel she was a victim of sloppy, negligent, cookie-cutter conveyor belt treatment A lot of mistakes on part of GP(Wrote everything off as old age.. arthritis, age related asthma, when she started bleeding, told her she had a kidney infecton.) Her gyn/onc. also screwed up. Anyhow after she passed, my sisters and I got her medical records and I went to see a lawyer. I am so glad I went to someone small, in practice for himself and one of his specialties is med. malpractice. He told me up front most cancer cases are lost. You not only have to have a "smoking gun" but you have to prove that it resulted in loss, a worse prognosis, different treatment.. i.e. a mastectomy vs. lumpectomy etc.. chemo vs. not having chemo.. There's also a time limit to bring suit and I was shocked because it's really not that long of a time frame. He gave me an example of a case he currently has. The woman was having some pains, went to her local hospital for a mammogram, 3 yrs in a row. 3 yrs in a row, she was "Fine". The next year she went to another hospital, and she had cancer. When they started looking at some of her old films, the cancer was def. there the last 2 mammograms. The very first mammogram was shady/suspicious. They radiologist never caught it. A warning ladies, don't get your mammograms at the same place all the time. Maybe alternate between two facilities . Her case is a case that can be won. Much more advanced cancer, a poorer prognois and the proof in black and white filmography. Anyhow he was very kind, listened to my spiel, but ultimately after reviewing her records with the onc specialist he uses, felt there was no case. I also called a very large firm, You know one with the full page ads in the phone book. They may as well have been called FU and FU because they were rude and obnoxious and basically told me , "that's cancer, that's chemotherapy, that's tough sh*T" Anyhow, I wish you luck and if you do consult a lawyer, do yourself a favor and go to someone small, not one of those big impersonal firms. They'll do a "phone consultation" it's very cold and impersonal. Take care. Cindy

A good friend of mine, I
A good friend of mine, I spoke of her before on this board. She was 25 when she had breast cancer. Her Dr. who was also part of the group og OB/GYN's I went to. She felt a lump, he said it was fibrocystic,or hormonal changes. She went back in a month since it was bothering her, he said the same thing! She waited another month, by then she was oozing out of her nipple.She went to a new GYN, he too a sample of the oozing and it came back cancer cells. She had an incisional lumpectomy, then a mastestomy. I guess she did that so she wouldn't need the radiation since the nodes were clear. She never took any drugs, either, I don't know if Tamox was available then in 75. anyway, she never had any reoccurance, she had to wait 3 yrs back then to get a reconstruction since Ins didn't cover it and she was told then she also had to be cancer-free.

She recently had a preventative mastectomy of her other breast. She said the surgeon also fixed her other one and now they match. She is doing well.

I myself went 6 monts with a hydatiformed mole pregnancy! A hydatiformed mole is a benign form of choriocarcinoma. Had it been that and not the mole, I'd be dead.

MAJW

LEAGAL EAGLE.....
I have the same BC Stage II......no lymph node involvment though......I found it myself only 3 months after a mammo and ultrasound...From the research I have done and from info from my surgeon and oncologist, this, IDC, invasive ductual carcinoma, is an AGRESSIVE cancer.....grows VERY quickly.....so I doubt it was even there in Dec.......I was angry when diagnosed..saying why wasn't it found 3 months ago, and the above explination was what I was given.....I think probably what you had two years ago, was what the GYN said......if it were the bc you are now dealing with, you'd probably would have been a Stage IV by now....BUt if you feel otherwise, you'd have to consult a malpractice attorney.......
Best wishes