Breast cancer
With about 37,000 new cases diagnosed each year in England and Wales, breast cancer is the most common cancer for women and early diagnosis is key. Early-stage tumours have generally not had an opportunity to spread significantly within the breast, or to other organs.
Breast screening is available for all women aged between 50 and 64 every three years, and if a woman finds a lump in her breast her GP can, in appropriate circumstances, refer her to a breast cancer unit via the fast track referral system.
In the UK, the diagnosis of breast cancer uses the "triple test", combining three independent aspects of assessment: clinical assessment (physical examination of the breast); imaging (mammography and ultrasound); and tissue diagnosis (core needle biopsy or fine needle aspiration).
Breast cancer cases might involve a delay on the part of the GP in referring the patient to a breast cancer unit, or a failure on the part of the unit to perform the appropriate diagnostic tests. In other circumstances, the radiology may be misreported.
If you have suffered as a result of a medical accident or because of sub-standard care or management, the law can help you find out what happened and why, and in some cases recover compensation for your suffering. Contact us for further information.
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