Woman undergoes unneeded double mastectomy. [AP]
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That is just…awful.
Wow. What a gigantic error. Not that this is any consolation, or anything, but she’s lucky it didn’t have anything to do with her limbs.
In between the lines…. there’s a woman who didn’t get a cancer diagnosis that she should have.
Always get a second opinion on this. Most women, or men for other cancers, don’t. Most of the time insurance is happy to have you get it since it might save money.
Geez. I don’t know if I’d sue for the massive sums of money that most people seem to go for but I’d sure demand they pay for any medical bills resulting from this AND pay for implant surgery — of my choice and at a clinic of my choosing.
Similar thing happened in Los Angeles a few years ago – except it ended up with the woman having her uterus and ovaries removed. Turns out she didn’t need to surgically remove a portion of her womanhood.
The doctor who made this faulty diagnosis (along with at least a half-dozen others) is still practicing and denying that he did anything wrong.
From the sound of it, there was no second opinion. Dead wrong to do a surgery without a second lab doing a test on both the surgeon and patients part. I find it tough to believe someone would even contemplate serious surgery without a 2nd opinion in a world where people get 3rds.
@Buran: But there are other things to consider, such as the fact that she can no longer nurse a child, she may not have nipples anymore (and diminished sexual satisfaction), and jeez, can you imagine the psychological implications of having your breasts surgically removed and discovering it was for nothing?
Also something to consider, sometimes the large rewards people get also come from penalizing the offending party (in the hopes that they will think twice about making the same mistake again).
So, I agree medical expenses should be paid, but there are lots of reasons for the larger amounts that are rewarded.
This woman was on the Today Show this morning. She stated that it was a radical surgery she chose to have because otherwise doctor’s visits would be required every 6 months for the cancer she supposedly had. I don’t know. I don’t think I’d have any more than necessary removed of any part of me just because I don’t want to visit a doc and get tested every 6 months.
Still, the doc or lab techs f* up. She shouldn’t have made the decision in the first place.
Link’s being temperamental. Here’s one that works.