← Return to When to seek a 3rd opinion?

Discussion
ginkle999 avatar

When to seek a 3rd opinion?

Liver Cancer | Last Active: Dec 13, 2025 | Replies (14)

Comment receiving replies
Profile picture for Turkey, Volunteer Mentor @tomrennie

@ginkle999 Do you know what radioactive material you were injected with? I don't understand the roles of your care team. For example, I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in 8/22. It spread primarily to my liver and bones. Treating my liver has been just as important as my pancreas. My liver had innumerable lesions with the largest being 8cm. I have the support of a multidisciplinary team that includes healthcare professionals from primary care, oncology, cardiology, pulmonology, hepatology, and others. They each have defined roles but collaborate to provide me with the best care possible. Most tumor boards are similar. In my experience, the lack of defined care team roles leads to confusion in diagnosis and treatment. If you don't feel comfortable with your current care, I highly recommend getting as many opinions necessary until you do feel comfortable. Use the process to interview healthcare professionals and assemble the best care team for you. Let's hope your lesion is benign and further care isn't warranted. But, it never hurts to have an alternative plan in place and a team assembled should the need arise. Make sense?

If you are interested in getting another opinion from Mayo, here is a link to initiate that process. https://mayocl.in/1mtmR63

Jump to this post


Replies to "@ginkle999 Do you know what radioactive material you were injected with? I don't understand the roles..."

@tomrennie I hope I'm not posting twice, this site confuses me a bit. Yes it makes perfect sense to assemble a care team should the need arise, and I'm researching doctors and facilities, Mayo among them. Right now we are still on hold until the tumor is large enough to biopsy or shows as cancer on the MRI. The PET/CT radioactive shot was FDG, a tracer. I also had a nuclear bone scan, which used Tc-99m MDP. I trust my doctor and her NP, but can't help but wonder if there's a more definitive answer out there or a different angle to come at this from. Am I really the only one with this particular set of lab/scan results? Maybe there are studies out there. If not, then someone should be writing me up. It sounds like you've been through a lot. I'm amazed at the stories I'm reading.