Delayed Diagnosis Breast Cancer are you a victim?

No horror story for me
No wasted time for me. I saw my PA a week after I found the lump under arm( she was out of town). Saw her at 11 on Thurs., was at radiology at 1 for a new mammo, told to wait and then had a sono and biopsies. Had the path. report at 8 the next morning - just what was expected - IBC. Monday saw the surgeon, Tuesday saw the rads Dr, saw the chemo Dr on Wed. MRI, CT, Bone scan, PET, EKG and a biopsy of an area along jaw (negative) tht had lit up on PET. Port put in and the next day (17 days after DX started A/C. 2 weeks after 4th A/C had surgery, 3 weeks later started 12 weekly Taxol. A week after last Taxol started Rads. A week after starting Rads started Femara.
So - no there was no wasted time at all for me.

Winyan - The Power Within

Susan

negligence and falsified documents
My wife reported a lump in her breast to her OB at a followup appointment after a C-Section. The doc never touched it and declared it a clogged milk duct. She followed all the advice, met with nursing coaches, and continued to express her concerns for the next 6 months. When she was ready to stop breast feeding and the lump still was not gone, she made a stink about it. That was when they discovered it was cancer, and it had grown to 4cm. The office went back through her records and lied about giving what should have been a standard breast exam at 3 months. The lump would have been large and impossible to miss.

disneyfan2008 said:

I am in process now (surgery
I am in process now (surgery next week). I have a suspicous spot-had biopsy-came back OK...but still suspicous! I was told I could wait 4-5 mths and come back for a MRI. I decided to NOT do that and have all of it taken out and then some next wed..

Denise

MY DCIS was caught early-surgery right away (4 1/2 yrs ago)

Missed cancer four years in a row
I lived in a small community in New Mexico for several years, and faithfully had a mammogram done annually. The first few years I was there I flew back to Houston and saw my gynocologist and had a mammogram there. The gynocologist retired in Houston, so I decided it was time to find a local OBGYN and have my mammo done at home without having to travel. In 2004 I had my mammo done at the local hospital in Ruidoso, and it was read by the radiologist there. It came back clean. Same in 2005, 2006. We moved back to Texas in December 2007, so I decided to wait until the first of 2008 to find a local doctor at my new place of residence. January 2008 I saw an OBGYN and had a mammogram at my local hospital in Jacksonville TX. Immediately they found a suspicious area and did a needle biopsy. They also wrote the hospital in Ruidoso and asked for my previous three years of mammograms. The hospital sent the one done in 2005, and said that the other two film could not be located. However, upon examination,the tumor was there in 2005, clear as a bell on the film. So started my bout with cancer, including a lympectomy, eight rounds of TAC, and 40 rounds of radiation. The radiologist in Jacksonville told me that if the cancer had been found in 2005, it probably could have been removed easily, with no need for chemo, and probably just radiation. That's my story,and I hope it makes everyone aware that you can't always trust those who you put your life into their hands. Thank goodness it was found in 2008, because I probably would have not survived had it gone another year or two before being found. Now, I am cancer free, but have other issues that are a result of chemo and nausea meds. (Took Reglan for 3 months while taking chemo, and was diagnosed with Tardive Dyskinesia, a neurological disease that will stay with me the rest of my life.) My advice to everyone is to make sure you have complete confidence in your OBGYN and radiologist, and if you don't, please seek a second opinion. Hugs to all. Judy

Delayed diagnosis?

Hi! I'm new to this site, doing lots of reading and this question prompted me to share my story. I've had a few mammograms over the years that required a callback for ultrasound and all was well. October 2011--mammo, then callback in Nov. for diagnostic and ultrasound. No lump, just a "persistent area of diffuse distortion." Had a stereotactic needle biopsy, and results came back negative right before Thanksgiving. I was relieved, but got a call from my GYN in early Dec.--he wanted me to consult a surgeon, just to be safe. OK, better safe than sorry. The breast surgeon I ws referred to was rather arrogant, and told me that what I had (he called it a fibroadenoma) would never develop into cancer; he could operate if I wanted, but it was not necessary. Great. On with my life. Routine mammo Oct. 2012--callback for diagnostic and ultrasound. The rediologist asked why I did not "get this taken care of last year." After explanations, and the radiologist and the two techs saying they would "want it out of my body" if it were them, I was referred to another breast surgeon. New BS said the only way to know would be to biopsy the tissue and have it examined by a pathologist. Open excisional biopsy with wire localization 12/13/12; results came back DCIS, intermediate nuclear grade in 3 different areas of the golf ball sized tissue that was removed. So now on to breast MRI, radiation and hormone therapy for 5 years. Seeing the BS on 1/3 to discuss all the particulars. Will update soon! 

Yep. Happened to me also

Please see my story on being scarred sh**less.  Tells almost all.  Have had 4 mammos on that girl in a year.  4th one was the charm.

Take care, Cindy

 

lintx said:

My complaint at GYN

My annual GYN Dec 2011 was scheduled, but my DR had an emergency surgery that morn, so I saw the nurse practioner.  Huge mistake.  I had an unusual pain in my rt breast at 10 0'clock, and she said not to worry because there is never pain w/cancer, and it was probably a cyst.  Said my annual mammo in Apr would be sufficient, and nothing further at that time.  The mammo in Apr showed what appeared to be 2 clouds floating across each other, and the radiologist said he was calling me back because he'd learned agressives hide under this type picture.  Again, not to worry. Before I left, I'd had a biopsy and saw the tentacles on the mass.  Of course, it was at 10 o'clock rt breast, exactly where I complained of pain the prior Dec. I knew it was aggressive when I saw the specimen.  After this year of bilateral/reconstruction, I saw the DR at my GYN appt in Dec 12.  She sat down and talked to me for the first 20 min, saying how blown away she was that I had the 2nd most aggressive bc, and I'd always been so healthy.  Then went on to say she'd flagged my record and would follow my recovery through onco reports.  She said data surveyed in her particular practice showed patients lived 1-3 years after a diagnosis like mine!!!!!!!  She chose not to make an annual appt for 2013 and said she'd watch my chart.  If all was well around next fall, they'd call me to schedule.  I looked at her and said, "You really don't expect me to be alive next fall."  I have felt so down since that appt and can't decide if the holidays contributed or reading the sad posts.  Whether I'm here or not, that DR lost me as a client.  Linda 

@ Linda

OMG Linda that is horrible, I don't know what kinda of Cancer DX you have but there is a lot of us with aggressive BC cancer and we have been around many years. Glad you got rid of that doctor. I really wish they would stop saying that breast cancer has no pain. Thats what my primary doctor told me when I complained about a pain in my breast. One year later I was DX with breast Cancer. They told me I had the cancer for about a year. It also was missed in a mammy. I am now with a great group of doctors. As far as I am cocerned there is pain with cancer !!!!!!!

Kathy