Prostate cancer affects African-American men earlier and often more aggressively from other men. Men of African-American descent are at greater risk of getting prostate cancer at a younger age. Because of this, doctors typically agree that doctors should go over prostate cancer screening wiith men of African-American descent when the patient turns forty-five. A doctor who does not adhere to the guidelines for a patient might be liable should it later be found that he had prostate cancer which spread as a consequence of the doctor’s failure to tell him about screening tests.

Aside from standard screening for cancer, doctors also should really recognize and follow up in the event that a patient reports symptoms suspicious for possible cancer. Physicians also ought to either perform screening testing requested by a patient or make it clear to the individual that they will not do the test and that the patient will have to see a different doctor if he still wants the test. Look at the reported case of a forty one year-old African-American male who had been involved in an ad campaign meant to raise awareness over the risk of prostate cancer in middle-aged males of African-American descent requested that his doctor screen him for the cancer.

The doctor performed a digital examination and uncovered no abnormalities. The doctor ordered blood tests for the patient but failed to include a request for a PSA test. The doctor did not let the man know that no PSA test had been done. The patient was seen again by the same physician 2 years later. This time the physician failed to conduct a physical examination of the prostate and just as before did not order a PSA test.

By performing a physical examination of the prostate and ordering blood tests the physician caused a situation in which the patient believed that he had been appropriately screened for prostate cancer and that the results had came back normal indicating nothing suspicious for cancer. In such a case, the majority of patients would probably believe that a PSA test had in fact bee ordered along with the rest of the blood tests which has bee ordered on the second visit. In any event, though, he certainly was justified in believing he had gone through a full screening in the earlier visit.

Subsequently that year the patient saw another physician in the same practice. This time the doctor not only performed a digital examination but also ordered a PSA test. The patient now learned that he had prostate cancer with bone metastasis. Due to the fact that the individual was now turning forty-five and under the guidelines the physician would normally only then have at a minimum had a conversation about screening. In this instance, though, he had specifically requested to be tested earlier and the actions of the doctor had led him to think that he had been.

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 represented the patient documented that it took the case to trail where a jury returned a verdict in the amount of $2,750,000 on behalf of the patient. The defendants appealed. As the appeal was pending the parties reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount that was less than the original verdict. The Appeals Court subsequently denied the appeal.