CHARLESTON – A Lincoln County woman is suing Women's Health Center of West Virginia Inc. and a nurse practitioner after she claims it failed to diagnose her breast cancer in a timely manner.
On Oct. 12, 2012, Tristia Wiley presented to Women's Health Center with complaints of a lump in her left breast and was examined by Virginia Nelson, a nurse practitioner, according to a complaint filed March 27 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Wiley claims Nelson advised her not to worry about the lump in her breast and did not recommend a mammogram or otherwise refer her to a breast surgeon.
On March 19, 2013, Wiley returned to the center with complaints of tenderness of the left breast and that the lump had increased in size, according to the suit.
Wiley claims she was examined by Pamela Maddox, who also advised her not to worry and did not recommend a mammogram.
On April 20, 2013, Wiley presented to the emergency department at Charleston Area Medical Center with complaints of left breast tenderness and a lump and an ultrasound of the left breast was performed, as well as a core needle biopsy, which diagnosed her with infiltrating ductal carcinoma, according to the suit.
Wiley claims the delay in diagnosis of the aggressive breast cancer from Oct. 12, 2012, until April 20, 2013, caused the cancer to spread to an advanced stage, Stage IIIB and she had to have a bilateral mastectomy, chemotherapy and 30 sessions of radiation.
The defendants deviated from the applicable standard of care expected of reasonably prudent healthcare providers in the same or similar circumstances by failing to recommend a mammogram or refer Wiley to a breast surgeon on Oct. 12, 2012, according to the suit.
Wiley is seeking compensatory damages. She is being represented by Ben Salango of Preston & Salango PLLC.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 15-C-602