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Emerging Treatments for Breast Cancer Patients in Illinois
Breast cancer treatments are constantly evolving towards more effective methods with less significant side effects. Women in Illinois who are diagnosed today with breast cancer, especially those whose cancer is caught early, stand a much better chance of survival than cancer patients even in the more recent past.
But even the most effective treatment is dependent on correctly diagnosing cancer in a timely manner. Doctors, radiologists, and oncologists must take the responsibility to provide their patients with a standard of care seriously. When medical providers make mistakes, act negligently, or otherwise cause a misdiagnosis or inappropriate course of treatment for breast cancer, they may be held liable for the consequences. Here are some of the most promising emerging breast cancer treatments available today.
HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
Causes and Early Signs of Breast Cancer
Every day, thousands of women across the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time. One of the most common and well-understood types of cancer, breast cancer is a type of cancer that forms in the cells of breast tissue of both men and women, although it is seen far more frequently in women.
If you have received a breast cancer diagnosis, you likely already know that a large team of medical staff is going to help you throughout your treatment and recovery. Each part of your Chicago cancer treatment team, whether doctors, nurses, oncologists, or radiologists, are responsible for providing treatment according to the established standard of care.
Unfortunately, this does not always happen successfully. Breast cancers are often misdiagnosed, mistreated, or missed altogether. To optimally treat breast cancer, it must be caught as early as possible and the patient given an effective testing and treatment regimen. Understanding how and when breast cancer diagnosis and treatment may involve medical malpractice is important for ensuring you get the best quality treatment available.
What Does My Ki-67 Level Say About My Breast Cancer Diagnosis?
When someone is diagnosed with breast cancer, there are a number of tests that can indicate what kind of cancer it is, how quickly it is likely to progress, and which treatment options may be more successful than others. This can be an overwhelming amount of information for breast cancer patients and patients must put their trust in the hands of a qualified medical team.
Unfortunately, doctors, nurses, radiologists, and other medical staff do not always exercise an adequate standard of care, and breast cancer patients can suffer when their cases are misdiagnosed or otherwise not managed appropriately. Lives are tragically cut short every day because of breast cancer malpractice, and doctors are responsible for doing everything in their power to keep this from happening.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with breast cancer, you are probably learning as much as you can. One important test you may want to know more about is the Ki-67 proliferation marker test. For a brief overview of this topic, and how it may contribute to an understanding of your breast cancer diagnosis, read on.
Digital Breast Tomosynthesis Offers Improved Breast Cancer Patient Outcomes in Illinois
Cases of breast cancer misdiagnosis are tragically common and the results can cause life-threatening injuries and death. Doctors are responsible for ensuring they pay close attention to their patients’ needs, complaints, and health histories so they can order the appropriate screening and diagnostic tests.
One of the best screening and diagnostic tools available is digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT).
When DBT is properly utilized in coordination with other tools, patient outcomes can improve dramatically. If you or a loved one have suffered from a delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis because your doctor failed to order the appropriate detection tools or treatment, you may be able to pursue compensation.
What is Digital Breast Tomosynthesis?
DBT is a relatively new technology that improves a doctor’s ability to diagnose breast cancer. Also known as a 3D mammogram, DBT uses two-dimensional pictures to create a three-dimensional perspective of breast tissue. This method allows doctors to get a better view of overlapping tissue that is sometimes obstructed in other methods of breast imaging. This is especially helpful for women with dense breast tissue, which can often look similar to cancerous tissue on mammogram images.
How Can a Hormone Receptor Test Affect My Breast Cancer Diagnosis?
Whether due to suspicious results on a routine mammogram or a patient finding a lump in their breast, breast tissue biopsies may be warranted to determine whether breast cancer is present. After breast tissue is removed, it is sent to a laboratory and tested. If breast cancer is present, the breast cancer cells may be tested further to determine the specific type of cancer and potential treatment options.
Breast tissue is regularly tested for the presence of certain proteins that allow estrogen and progesterone to attach to special receptors in breast tissue cells, stimulating cancer growth.
If a breast tissue sample does have these estrogen and progesterone receptors, the cancer will be deemed hormone receptor-positive. Understanding what it means to have breast tissue that is hormone receptor-positive is important if you believe you may have suffered from a breast cancer misdiagnosis or negligent treatment from your Illinois healthcare provider.
What Is a HER2 Positive Breast Cancer Diagnosis?
Breast cancer is one of the most well-understood forms of cancer and the field of treatment and diagnosis is continually evolving and improving. Illinois doctors like radiologists and oncologists who work with breast cancer patients are responsible for constantly pursuing appropriate education so they can give their patients an appropriate standard of medical care. When doctors fail to do this, test results can be delayed, misdiagnosed, or poorly managed, leading to adverse patient outcomes and a possible medical malpractice lawsuit. If you have been diagnosed with HER2 positive breast cancer, it may be helpful to learn more about what this means so you can ensure you are getting what you need.
What is the HER2 Gene?
The “human epidermal growth factor receptor 2,” or HER2, is a gene that can contribute to the growth of breast cancer. When a breast tissue biopsy is performed, a written report will have specific information about the tissue, including whether HER2 plays a role in a specific patient’s cancer development.
Which Risk Factors Heighten the Likelihood of a Person Developing Breast Cancer?
Thanks to major advances in technology and treatment, breast cancer is currently one of the best-understood types of cancer. Although this can be good news for women who have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, it is not a guarantee that breast cancer will always be appropriately diagnosed and treated.
One of the most important elements in properly anticipating, diagnosing, and treating breast cancer is a comprehensive understanding of a patient’s current health, health history, and risk factors for breast cancer. Physicians who practice an appropriate standard of care will take all of these issues into account and strive to provide the best care for their patients. When they fail to do this, breast cancer patients can suffer from late diagnoses, misdiagnoses, and serious injury or death from cancer that has advanced past the point where it can be treated. Here are some common risk factors physicians should be aware of when assessing a patient’s risk of breast cancer.
What is the Difference Between Screening and Diagnostic Mammograms?
Every year, incredible new diagnostic and treatment options are developed for detecting and managing breast cancer. While it is crucial for doctors to understand each of these options so that cases of failure to diagnose and other medical malpractice are minimized, it is also necessary for patients to be informed about their options.
Mammography is one of the most important resources for finding breast cancer, but not all mammograms are the same. If you are in the early stages of finding out more about breast cancer, read on.
Screening Mammograms
Screening mammograms are given during regular breast exams to detect cancer early, when it is easiest to treat. Screening mammograms use x-rays in safe, low doses so women can have regular mammograms–usually once a year around age 45 or later. Screening mammograms are usually the first strategy for looking at potentially cancerous tissue that can be further investigated and treated if necessary.
What Can I Do If a Doctor Misdiagnosed My Breast Cancer Type?
Breast cancer appears in many different forms. Doctors who specialize in breast cancer treatment, such as radiologists and oncologists, must be able to correctly distinguish between the different types of breast cancer so a patient gets the necessary treatment. But when doctors do not order the appropriate diagnostic tools, a misdiagnosis may occur, leading to inadequate treatment or delayed treatment and serious injury or death. If you are worried that your doctor may have failed to diagnose or misdiagnosed you or a loved one with the wrong type of breast cancer, read on.
Common Types of Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is initially divided into two categories: Invasive and non-invasive. While non-invasive breast cancer is contained within the milk ducts and glands, invasive breast cancer has already spread beyond the ducts and glands into the surrounding fatty tissue, muscles, lymph nodes, and beyond.
How Can an MRI Supplement a Screening Mammogram?
Mammography is a technology that works wonders for many women by detecting breast cancer early enough that doctors can treat it effectively. Using x-rays, mammograms offer a safe and routine screening method for women over a certain age. But if a woman is at an increased risk of breast cancer, she may need to take additional measures to catch developing masses early. These include extra forms of screening, the most common of which is magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI. Using a magnetic field and computer-generated radio waves, an MRI creates detailed images of breast tissue that can show cancerous growths that a mammogram might miss.
However, no screening measures are effective if they are not used because a doctor ignores or misses risk factors and fails to order necessary diagnostic tests. Insufficient monitoring or follow-up during routine mammograms may lead to the failure to diagnose breast cancer and lawsuits for medical malpractice.
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