Breast Cancer
Our Case *
In July of 1989, Mrs. Curtis discovered a lump in
her right breast. Relying on her doctor as an expert
in breast surgery and cancer diagnosis, she contacted
him for an opinion. Mrs. Curtis underwent mammograms
and examinations in an attempt to diagnose the lump.
Subsequent to the exams, Dr. Andrew informed her that
there was no lump and therefore, no cancer in her
breast.
In September 1990, Mrs. Curtis observed swelling under her armpit. One month
later she was diagnosed with swollen right axilla lymph nodes. There were at
least two dense oval masses confirmed by mammogram examinations. On November
21, 1990, defendant Dr. Andrew performed an excisional biopsy by surgically extracting
a swollen node for testing to determine if it was cancerous.
The defendant, Dr. Andrew, noted that six nodes were swollen and matted together,
ranging in size from 1/2 cm to 2 cm in diameter. As also noted in his report,
Dr. Andrew removed a single swollen 1/2 cm lymph node from beneath Mrs. Curtis
' right arm and near her breast.
The final pathology report performed upon the extracted lymph node diagnosed
that the lymph node that was removed was benign. Defendant Dr. Andrew extracted
no other lymph nodes, and no other biopsies were performed. Defendant Dr. Andrew
then informed his patient, still in the recovery room, that he had extracted
the largest node and, because it was benign, he felt sure that the other swollen
nodes were also not malignant, despite Mrs. Curtis' continued pain and swelling.
Mrs. Curtis continued to complain by telephone about the swelling under her armpit,
and occasional pain under her right breast where she had found the lump previously.
She returned to Dr. Andrew in February 1991, where Defendant Dr. Andrew advised
her to exercise and diagnosed her as "fine."
In May 1991, Defendant Dr. Andrew's associate performed a right breast aspiration
in response to the continued swelling of Mrs. Curtis 's lymph nodes and continued
pain around her right breast. Finally, Mrs. Curtis was diagnosed with breast
cancer in her right breast that had spread to her right lymph nodes and neck
area.
On August 20 1991, Mrs. Curtis and her family met with Dr. Andrew. He informed
her and her family that he had done everything properly and was unable to detect
her cancer before he did. Dr. Andrew also told the family that he did it by the
book, taking out the largest node for biopsy and there had been no reason to
suspect cancer in 1989.
Dr. Andrew never informed Mrs. Curtis or her family that he had not taken out
the largest swollen lymph node in 1990. Nor did he inform them that a benign
reactive result in one small lymph node did not medically rule out a diagnosis
of cancer for the other swollen matted nodes. In fact, Dr. Andrew fraudulently
concealed the true nature and size of the removed lymph node.
Following unsuccessful medical treatments, i.e. two trials of chemotherapy that
caused great pain and suffering, Mrs. Curtis died due to cancer on April 13,
1993.
Why were Defendants Negligent?
Dr. Andrew negligently failed to diagnose Mrs. Curtis' cancer because of inadequate
testing and an improper biopsy on November 21, 1990. The standard of care for
a doctor performing such a procedure requires a physician to extract the largest
node and biopsy it for malignancy. Only then can a physician rule out malignancy
for the remaining nodes. Since Dr. Andrew failed to perform a proper testing
and biopsy, Mrs. Curtis 's cancer remained undiagnosed and untreated until it
was too late.
The Verdict
The Lewis Law Firm were able to recover a large monetary award
as a result of trial. The battle was far from easy but the reward Mrs. Curtis'
estate received was well worth it. At the Lewis Law Firm, we go
to battle for you.
* Names have been changed where appropriate
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