Medical Protection Society Advises Doctors How To Avoid Missing The Early Signs Of Breast Cancer

Main Category: Breast Cancer
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 29 Sep 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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To mark the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month on 1 October, a leading professional indemnity provider is warning doctors that delays in diagnosing the disease are a common contributor to claims against GPs.

The Medical Protection Society (MPS), the leading provider of comprehensive professional indemnity and expert advice to health professionals around the world, has also issued advice to doctors on factors that can reduce the chance of delays in the diagnosis of cancers occurring.

Dr Angelique Mastihi, MPS Medicolegal Adviser, said: "We studied 1,000 consecutive negligence claims against GPs and found that 14 per cent were caused by delays in the referral and therefore diagnosis of cancer. Another MPS study of complaints in primary care has confirmed that delay, and the perception that there has been a delay, whether or not this is justified, is the main reason for these complaints arising".

Breast cancer is one of three types of malignancy accounting for the largest group of diagnostic delays, the others being cancers of the cervix and colon.

Dr Mastihi said "One of the key messages here is that over 90 per cent of breast cancers are found by women themselves. When a woman says there is a lump in her breast, it is more than likely that this is the case".

Dr Mastihi also highlighted the need for GPs to ensure that their technique for breast examinations is up-to-date, as there had been cases where lumps were almost certainly present, although they had not been detected during an examination.

Dr Mastihi said: "The lessons from these cases included the vital importance of listening closely to patients, as sometimes they mention a very relevant symptom right at the end of a consultation about something else entirely. This happened in a recent case and although the patient received advice from the GP, she was not examined and the issue was not documented in the records. As a result, subsequent doctors were unable to follow this up, as they would have done had they known about the lump, and there was a delay in diagnosing her cancer.

"It is also crucial to document all relevant information. In this case the fact that the patient was not examined initially and there were no relevant notes, meant that this patient had a valid claim for a delay in diagnosis".

MPS points out that breast cancer is the second most common form of malignancy in the UK after non-melanoma skin cancer, and by far the most frequent in women. It says that more than 45,500 women were diagnosed with the disease in 2005 and almost 300 men a year discover that they too have breast cancer. The lifetime risk of developing breast cancer is one in 9.

Dr Mastihi said "delays in detection could be crucial, as the chances of a woman with the disease recovering could be 90 per cent if diagnosis was early, but could drop to less than 20 per cent if the cancer was diagnosed when it was well advanced".

Further information about MPS can be found on http://www.medicalprotection.org/uk.

1 http://www.cancerresearch.org.uk

About Medical Protection Society

The Medical Protection Society is the leading provider of comprehensive professional indemnity and expert advice to doctors, dentists and health professionals around the world.

We are a mutual, not-for-profit organisation offering more than 250,000 members help with legal and ethical problems that arise from their professional practice. This includes clinical negligence claims, complaints, medical council inquiries, legal and ethical dilemmas, disciplinary procedures, inquests and fatal-accident inquiries.

Fairness is at the heart of how we conduct our business. We actively protect and promote the interests of members and the wider profession. Equally, we believe that patients who have suffered harm from negligent treatment should receive fair compensation. We promote safer practice by running risk management and education programmes to reduce avoidable harm.

MPS is not an insurance company. The benefits of membership are discretionary - this allows us the flexibility to provide help and support even in unusual circumstances.

The Medical Protection Society. A company limited by guarantee. Registered in England no. 36142 at 33 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0PS

Medical Protection Society