Second Opinions

[JoelT]

Getting second opinions is vital, even if you love and respect your primary doctor. Having a second set of eyes and a second brain look at your situation is always better.

If the second opinion is consistent with the first then you will feel more confident that you are heading in the correct direction. If it is different then it should make you stand up and take notice.

I have heard that sometimes people don't want to get a second opinion because they are concerned that the primary doctor will become insulted. This is very rare, oncologists expect and often appreciate hearing from another doctor. If your doctor isn't OK with a second opinion then they do not have enough confidence in their own work which tells me that you should move on to a different doctor.

Your goal is to do the best for yourself, not to make the doctor feel better about themselves.

Joel

[Hidden]

I second that emotion JoelT.....The more we know the more empowered we feel.

[ggbk]

I had been following a slowly rising PSA after RP and radiation in early 2014. Dx after PSA of 10.5 and gleason of 9. It had reached 2 in Nov 2017. My MO thought we could wait until PSA reached about 10 to start ADT. I got a second opinion from a MO that specializes in Prostate cancer. He suggested I have a gallium 68 radiotracer pet scan done at UCLA medical center as part of a clinical trial. It showed I had slight to mild PSMA hot spots in the lungs and a biopsy of them showed the cancer had spread. Long story short, I am now a big fan of second opinions.

Good luck to us all. God bless