Screening African American Men for Prostate Cancer

Below we examine two lawsuits that give us some clues about the significance of screening men for prostate cancer. Although there has been some discussion of late on the worth of testing male patients for prostate cancer (in particular regarding the PSA test) some points stay undisputable. First, prostate cancer causes the PSA to climb. Second, African-American males have a greater likelihood of developing prostate cancer before it spreads. Also, in case where prostate cancer is diagnosed early, there is a very high cure rate. Fourth, if it is not identified until it has reached an advanced stage, there is currently no known cure. Fifth, most physicians are in agreement that at the minimum a doctor ought to have a discussion with men of a specific age concerning screening for prostate cancer and that dialogue and any screening ought to happen at an earlier age for male patients of African-American descent.



In one malpractice lawsuit, a man of African-American descent frequently saw his family doctor. Over time, the physician saw him for a number of medical problems. Most notably were prostate related problems. Yet, the physician did not correctly carry out testing during the time the man was asymptomatic or diagnostic testing to rule out the chance of prostate cancer when the individual had prostate related issues. When the man was 57, he came across an article which described the benefits of cancer testing and requested the screening. The tests uncovered that he had advanced prostate cancer. The law firm that handled this lawsuit published that it was settled for three quarter of a million dollars.



Look at the other published case of a forty one year-old African-American man who had been involved in an ad campaign meant to raise awareness about the risk of prostate cancer in middle-aged males of African-American descent requested that his physician test him for the cancer. The physician failed to let the man know that no PSA test had been done. The patient was seen again by the same physician two years later at which point the physician did not perform a physical examination of the prostate and just as before did not order a PSA test.



Subsequently that year the patient saw another doctor in the same practice. This doctor performed a digital examination and ordered a PSA test. The result the mant, now almost 45, had advanced cancer which had reached the bone. The patient filed a lawsuit against the doctor for the injury caused him by the delay in the diagnosis of his cancer. The law firm that took the case documented that the case was settled pending an appeal of a $2.75 Million jury verdict.



An important issue from these malpractice claims is that, despite any debate regarding the advantages of screening male patients for prostate cancer, not doing so may end in spread of the cancer and in time, the death of the man : a death that might have be avoided. If you or a member of your  family was not diagnosed until the cancer had metastasized for the reason that the physician never informed the man concerning screening methods or caused a delay in the detection or treatment of the cancer, you ought to consult with a lawyer right away.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
Joseph Hernandez is an attorney accepting medical malpractice cases. To learn about prostate cancer and other cancer matters including colon cancer visit the websites

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