OK. It's a lot easier to get second opinions now than it used to be. All throughout my treatment at a local hospital, the thought never occurred to me (mostly because I had an excellent surgeon on the team). Once the surgery, chemo and radiation therapy were over, it seemed to me that the oncologist (who is supposedly the hub in this wheel) was giving me a "cookie cutter" approach to what I consider the most important part of the treatment plan: hormone therapy for 5-10 years. Sure enough I was right. She was going to prescribe Tamoxifen for 5 years and call it a day (understand, I am a post-menopausal woman). I called up Dana Farber for a second opinion and they were more than happy to do so. They prescribed 2 years Tamoxifen and 3-8 years AI (or also the option of doing the AI right then). They also prescribed 3 yrs of Zometa. Sure enough, your instincts will always be correct, and my advice would be, never hesitate to follow them. I still go to DF every 2 years and do call my oncologist there for a second opinion if and when I feel the local people are not up with the latest and greatest.

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