When Stage 4 Prostate Cancer Is A Consequence Of Delay From Watchful Waiting Suggestion
A high or fast rising PSA might mean that a male patient has prostate cancer . Doctors thus usually recommend that a patient with a high or rapidly rising PSA have a biopsy.
There are, nevertheless, two main difficulties with a biopsy. First a biopsy checks merely a portion of the prostate. It it may happen that the a biopsy might produce a false negative , missing the cancer. Second, biopsies pose dangers, including the danger of infection and the risk of severe bleeding.
Concern about these 2 issues seems to motivate a number of physicians to advise that men who have an elevated PSA pursue a plan of “watchful waiting.” This is an approach by which the physician routinely monitors the man’s high PSA over a period of months or years. Throughout this time some physicians recommend that the individual try non cancer related therapies, for instance, for infection, based on the possibility that if the PSA is elevatedhigh for a reason besides prostate cancer such treatments might get the PSA back to normal levels.
The difficulty arises in that the doctor could wait too long prior to suggesting a biopsy. The more time that passes while the PSA goes up the probability increases that the rising levels are due to prostate cancer, as does the likelihood that the cancer will progress beyond the prostate gland leading to a diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer. In the event that a physician, by advocating that the male patient delay before doing diagnostic testing, leads to a situation where the cancer propagate and reaches metastasis, a cancer attorney can assist you determine whether you may be able to successfully pursue medical negligence lawsuit against that doctor.
If the cancer is not diagnosed until the late stages, once it has grown outside the prostate, there is at the present time no treatment that can eliminate the cancer. Therefore one needs to ask: How many of the men who will die this year from advanced prostate cancer would not need to die if their doctor had tested them rather than holding off on recommending?
Corresponding problems can occur from the delayed detection of breast cancer in women and also of colon cancer In these situations the difficulty comes in if the delay ends up meaning that the patient is not diagnosed until the cancer is in the late (and possibly incurable) stages.
The above is just general information that is easily obtainable and is meant for basic educational uses only. The above should not be taken as medical advice. Consult with a physician if you have any health related concerns and before accepting any medical advice. The above is also not legal advice. Consult with a lawyer concerning any potential legal concerns.