Your breast cancer diagnosis has changed your life. You take comfort in the fact that your cancer was diagnosed early giving you the best chance to get the treatment that you need to survive. However, a new study suggests that you might need to be concerned about the way your doctor explains your breast cancer treatment options.

The failure to properly treat breast cancer may be a form of medical malpractice, just as the failure to diagnose breast cancer may be a form of medical malpractice. If you believe that you have been a victim of breast cancer malpractice, then it is important to contact an Atlanta breast cancer lawyer today for more information about your rights.

Failure to Treat Breast Cancer Study Results
 
The results of a recent University of North Carolina study found that many physicians are not doing a good job of informing their breast cancer patients about their disease and different treatment options. Specifically, the study of Stage I and Stage II breast cancer survivors found that:

  • Fewer than half knew that they had a higher chance of local recurrence after a lumpectomy as compared to a mastectomy.
  • Women who prefer mastectomy are less likely to get treatment in accordance with their goals.
  • Fewer than half recall being asked about their treatment preferences.

Researchers are quick to point out that there is no clear superior medical option for early stage breast cancer and that patients’ preferences are an important part of finding the right treatment option for an individual. Providing information to patients about plausible breast cancer treatment plans is an important part of obtaining informed consent from a breast cancer patient. The failure to share alternative treatment plans with a patient may mean that the patient did not provide her informed consent for treatment and that her doctor committed malpractice.
 
How to Contact an Atlanta Breast Cancer Lawyer
 
If your doctor failed to inform you about your breast cancer treatment options, if you would have made different treatment choices had you known about the options and if you suffered as a result of the lack of information, then it is important to fill out our online contact form or call one of our Atlanta breast cancer attorneys at 1.770.518.1133 for more information.

You can also learn more about the proper treatment of breast cancer in our FREE report: Breast Cancer: the Risks, the Signs, Diagnosis and Treatment.