You likely know that we are in the midst of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Whether you have participated in a community event or noticed NFL players wearing pink on the fields, there are various signs around us that breast cancer is on the minds and hearts of people all over the country, including in Ohio.
Why is awareness so important? There are various reasons. Obviously, funds would go a long way to help find a cure for breast cancer. Another invaluable aspect of the awareness campaign and knowledge in general is to try to encourage people to identify and get proper treatment for breast cancer.
Many women have learned from a young age how to check themselves. Many women still don’t routinely get checked. Plus, men should also understand that they too can suffer from the illness. Even with our own personal knowledge and manual exams, those who are not medical professionals can only do so much to try to beat breast cancer.
For example, say you find a lump. Maybe you don’t find a lump but you go to a routine mammogram because that is what you’ve been advised to do for decades. You (like most patients) would trust your health care provider to identify a risk in your images and tell you about a perceived problem. You would trust that your doctor would diagnose you correctly and, therefore, get you on course for the proper treatment.
That faith in a medical provider is common — and scarily it is often violated. In some breast cancer cases, a health care provider misses the signs and/or fails to act on them. That failure in diagnosis and treatment jeopardizes a patient’s health and chance of survival.
Being a victim of a failed or late diagnosis can be devastating for a patient and their loved ones. A medical malpractice lawyer understands the seriousness and emotional aspect of the situation and can evaluate a person’s right to hold a healthcare provider accountable for their suffering.