Connect
2nd opinions and consults
Good morning! I am in the process of gathering information about my esophageal cancer. I am interested in seeing multiple doctors to gather their opinions, although I have a team locally at a large teaching hospital. What is the way to go about this? Is it offensive? Is it welcomed? Will visiting other doctors offend the team that I currently have and make my treatment more difficult? I know it should be welcomed, but what happens behind the curtain-so to speak. Thank you for your help!
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Esophageal Cancer Support Group.
Connect
That’s what I wanna know as well. And would my insurance even cover something like that?
Insurance should cover a second opinion. Any physician that would be offended by this doesn't deserve to to have their hands anywhere near you. I was very comfortable with my oncologist, so I didn't get second or third opinions, but if anything ever seemed wishy washy or off, I would have certainly sought out second opinions. I am lucky to be in the medical field and had tight connections with a handpicked team, so I was comfortable from the start. Be careful to not let getting further opinions slow down the works too much though.
I too consulted with multiple oncologists and received similar but not identical ideas on the treatment side. I was confused about what route to take, but I was quickly brought to my senses by both the specialist who performed my endoscopy and a daughter-in-law international cancer research coordinator who put it simply: we fortunately live near a nationally ranked Comprehensive Cancer Research and Treatment Center. We should take the preliminary diagnosis measures performed at a nearby general hospital and then get discharged with a referral to the CCRC. It's a beyond-impressive facility with top shelf professional and staff expertise. The 57 nationally top-ranked treatment centers are listed at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCI-designated_Cancer_Center I urge you to consult it.