Men Tips

posted by jhernandezlaw01 on Sep 4

It is not unusual for an attorneys who handle medical malpractice cases to be contacted about a case involving the misdiagnosis (or delayed diagnosis) of cancer. These cases tend to occur most frequently with those types of cancer for which there are clear screening guidelines and easily available diagnostic tests that make it possible to detect the cancer while it is still at an early, and curable, stage.

One such type of cancer is prostate cancer in men. When detected and treated while in an early stage prostate cancer has a 5-year survival rate of approximately 97 percent. That is, statistically, only 3 out of 100 men diagnosed with and treated for early stage prostate cancer will succumb to the cancer within 5 years. Once the cancer spreads outside the prostate, that rate drops to approximately 50%. And after the cancer metastasizes to distant organs, patients have a life expectancy of only 2-3 years.

Below are 10 of the most common types of mistakes that doctors typically make which can result in a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of prostate cancer.

1. Not conducting a work up to diagnose patient complaints. Common complaints which are ignored or misdiagnosed as BPH include frequent urination and trouble urinating. It is not possible to determine whether a patient’s complaints are due to BPH or to cancer without appropriate testing.

2. Failure to note that a patient’s family history or race increases the risk of a particular type of cancer. For example, men with a first-degree relative with prostate cancer and men of African-American descent are at increased risk of prostate cancer.

3. Not informing the patient about the option of screening for prostate cancer. There are guidelines in place for screening asymptotic men for prostate cancer. These include the PSA blood test and the digital prostate examination.

4. Not ordering PSA testing. The PSA blood test measures the level of prostate specific antigen in the patient’s blood. Because prostate cancer causes the level to rise an abnormally high test result could be caused by prostate cancer.

5. Not performing a digital prostate examination. This exam tests for the presence of a nodule or a hardened area on the prostate which could be cancerous.

6. Not informing the patient of abnormal PSA or digital prostate exam results. Once test results indicate the possibility of cancer the patient has a right to know in order to be able to make an informed decision about options for further testing and treatment.

7. Telling a patient with complaints or with abnormal PSA or digital prostate exam results that he has BPH and not prostate cancer. Yet, without appropriate additional testing, such as a biopsy, it is not possible to determine whether the abnormal test results are due to BPH or to cancer.

8. Not referring a patient with abnormal test results to a Urologist. As a specialist, a Urologist is in a better position to determine whether the patient’s complaints or abnormal test results are due to cancer.

9. Not ordering a biopsy after abnormal test results. Most doctors would recommend a biopsy as the appropriate diagnostic test following abnormal results from screening tests.

10. Misreading biopsy samples. This can happen when the samples are mixed up with those of another patient or are incorrectly read as negative.

Beyond mistakes involving diagnosis, doctors also sometimes make mistakes after the cancer has been diagnosed. As an example of this, consider:

11. Not recommending treatment for a patient with prostate cancer. As soon as it is clear that the patient has cancer treatment options need to be discussed so that the patient can make an informed decision.

Any one of a combination of these mistakes can result in a delay in diagnosing the patient’s prostate cancer such that by the time it is finally detected it has progressed to an advanced, possibly metastatic, stage. By then, the cancer is no longer curable. And the patient or his family may have a claim for medical malpractice against the doctor(s) whose mistake(s) delayed the diagnosis.

Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney focused on catastrophic injury and medical malpractice cases. To learn more about advanced prostate cancer cases visit his website at http://www.prostatecancerlaw.com.

posted by jenyjv on Sep 4

This day and age knitting has a definite gender bent. We tend to think of it as a “granny” hobby done only by little old ladies rocking in wooden chairs. Maybe we think of young pregnant women waiting for the little bundle of joy to arrive. We never even consider a middle aged man who works in a factory to be a likely candidate to pick up knitting needles. Yet, this is by its very nature a sexist attitude. Could it be that as a society we’ve decided what a grown man can or cannot to just because we think it’s too feminine?

1.) Men deserve to relax too!

The truth is knitting is not just a pastime you engage in to simply throw together a pair of mittens. Let’s face it: buying them is quicker, easier, and cheaper! Knitting is not as much about the final product as it is about the process. It is almost meditative, a soothing, repetitive motion that has a similar effect on a person as the gentle rocking motion of a swing has on a small infant. The “click, click” sound the needles make are reminiscent of rain pattering on the roof at night. The whole experience makes a person feel cozy and relaxed.

2.) Creativity is NOT limited to women.

Men typically have a very good spatial sense. That stands them in good stead with this type of hobby. Like chess, certain knitting patterns require thinking rows ahead. Obviously, women can do this and have been for generations. Men can do it, too. It’s possible that because of the way men think, in a logical and linear fashion, some of these knitting patterns may actually makes more sense to them than to women. Many women may do these patterns as an extra challenge, but the almost mathematical precision required might make it simpler for men to grasp the knitting a little more quickly. Now, don’t misunderstand, that doesn’t mean men are necessarily better than women at this, just that they may have an advantage that makes knitting just as likely a hobby for men as it is for women.

3.) Men actually started this whole knitting thing to begin with.

It’s really true! In the 1500’s it was men who handled the knitting and the passing on of the tradition. There were rigorous tests and requirements for young men hoping to knit for a living. They had to be able to make several different types of articles at a high rate of speed with a certain level of quality before they were allowed to be considered knitting masters. The only reason that knitting ceased to be a tradition taught and apprenticed in such a manner was because a man invented the knitting machine in the late 1500’s. It took a while, but once the machines caught on and clothes were made more easily, faster, and cheaper, hand-knitting became more of a tradition or hobby than a necessity. It then was passed to the women who began to use knitting as a way to train for manual dexterity and industry, a classic way to not be idle.

4.) Constructive idleness can be a great alternative to simply “vegging out”.

A person can be knitting and still be resting. If a person is watching a movie or television, he or she can still be working on a project and take much better advantage of that otherwise idle time. When one stops to consider the tremendous amount of time our society spends doing nothing more than watching television it’s actually quite staggering. A person could convert that time into something useful like a garment, rug, dishcloth or some other useful item. There are organizations that like to have hand-knit items for the people they are helping. One good example is the quantity of cancer support groups that help provide hats for chemotherapy patients. If a man could master a simple hat pattern, he could learn to practically do it in his sleep and provide something useful and beautiful for someone in need.

5.) Delayed gratification and patience are stretched and strengthened with knitting.

Do you realize that you are not going to finish a project immediately? Chances are it will take several days working consistently to produce a project, and “several days” would actually only apply to a very small project (a hat or one mitten, or something of that nature). A more labor intensive project, say, a sweater for example, may actually take months. Knitting is not something you do to get something quickly. It’s something that is done with the idea of creating something beautiful to keep for a long time, a treasure. Some people like gifts, some people like quality time, some people like someone to do things for them. Knitting does all three.

The fact is all of these are good reasons to knit, not just for women but for men as well. It’s a nice idea that a man can put off that normal societal pressure and take up such a useful, relaxing hobby as knitting. Women never abandoned the craft even though it really is so much easier to buy garments already made. Maybe there is simply a part of us that needs to keep that tradition, that love of something personally made. Knitting can certainly fulfill a need in us to keep connected, to relax into an understandable pattern, a routine, and do things that are special and unique for one another. Embracing the fine art of knitting is to embrace a classic piece of our heritage, and one that is worthy of our attention and dedication. Maybe it is time for women AND men to begin to knit.

JJ Vazquez is a primary contributor and editor for the blog located at the Begin to Knit website. She is also CEO of the Vazquez Group, a business dedicated to education and cultural advancement. Visit Begin to Knit to receive “Purls of Wisdom”, the site newsletter.