Early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer is crucial

A person who has breast cancer has a good chance of survival in many cases. Typically, the stage of the cancer when it is diagnosed and the swiftness of treatment can both impact the ultimate outcome for the patient. This is something that applies to most types of cancer, so it is always imperative that the patient receives a diagnosis early and gets the treatment started as soon as possible.

When it comes to breast cancer, delaying surgery by as few as 30 days, or delaying chemotherapy by 90 days, can mean that the patient’s chance for survival tanks. This information has been confirmed by two studies.

Researchers in one study looked at the outcome of cases of women who started chemotherapy within 30 days of the surgery with the outcome of cases that had a 91-day or greater wait time between surgery and chemotherapy. The study found that the women who had to wait 91 days or longer were more likely to die from either the breast cancer or other causes.

Interestingly, there wasn’t a difference in women who started chemotherapy 31 to 90 days after the surgery and those who started chemotherapy within 30 days of the surgery. That is a good thing because more than 69 percent of women who were studied started chemo within 31 to 90 days after surgery. Nearly 10 percent of women started chemo 91 days or more after surgery, and 21 percent started within 30 days.

It is important that anyone who has something wrong with them get the help they need. Delays in treatment can be life-threatening. Seeking compensation when you are harmed by a failure to diagnose or treat is possible.

Source: BreastCancer.org, “Timely Breast Cancer Treatment Improves Survival,” accessed Oct. 21, 2016