Medical Malpractice Lawyers

From the Desk of a Cleveland Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer: The Cost of False Positives in Breast Cancer

You don’t need to be a cancer misdiagnosis lawyer in Cleveland to understand that getting cancer wrong can be expensive. A recent study manages to put a price tag on breast cancer: $4 billion a year, for false positive mammograms and the over diagnosis of breast cancer in women ages 40 to 59.

The study was published last April in the journal Health Affairs.

According to the report, about 11 percent of the women surveyed had a false positive result, which means about 3.2 million women in the nation received a false positive that cost $2.8 billion in health care spending.

“Ultimately, the decision to undergo breast cancer screening must be based on careful consideration of the trade-offs between the benefits and the harms of screening,” the report’s authors wrote. “We need a balanced message that continues to encourage women to seek medical care when they detect a breast lump, but we should also caution them about the negative consequences of over-detection from mammography.”

Of course, that only reflects the cost of false positives. False negatives, on the other hand, carry an untold cost, including potentially that of a life. If you believe you have been the victim of a false diagnosis, contact a Linton Law Firm cancer misdiagnosis lawyer in Cleveland for a free consultation today.