Doctor - Suggest Watchful Waiting At The Risk Of A Malpractice Case
The PSA is a blood test used by physicians to test asymptomatic men for prostate cancer. A high or rapidly rising PSA suggests that the male patient could have prostate cancer. Such results therefore generally lead to more testing, for example, a biopsy, to discover whether the man in fact has cancer.
You will find, nevertheless, two principal difficulties with a biopsy. First a biopsy samples merely a part of the prostate. It it may happen that the a biopsy could produce a false negative and not catch the cancer. Second, biopsies pose dangers, such as the risk of infection and the chance of severe bleeding.
Due to worries about these two issues seems to motivate certain physicians to adise that male patients who have an elevated PSA pursue a plan of “watchful waiting.” This is an approach where the physician regularly checks the patient’s raised PSA over a period of months or even years. In this time a number of doctors advise that the patient try non cancer related treatments, for example, for infection, under the theory that if the PSA is elevatedhigh for a reason other than prostate cancer such treatments might get the PSA back to normal levels.
The problem is that the doctor may too much time go by without suggesting a biopsy. As the PSA increases the chance grows that the rising levels result from prostate cancer, as does the chance that the cancer will spread outside of the gland resulting in a diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer.
In the event that a doctor, by recommending that the individual wait before undergoing diagnostic testing, results in a situation where the cancer spreads and gets to an advanced stage, a cancer attorney can help you decide if you might be able to successfully pursue medical malpractice case against that physician.
The above is just general information that is readily obtainable and is meant for basic educational uses only. The above does not constitute medical advice. Talk to with a doctor if you have any health related issues and before taking any medical advice. In addition, the above is also not legal advice. Talk to an attorney concerning any possible legal concerns.