Getting a Second Opinion
At a time when you are most vulnerable to stress and confusion, you may be asked to make decisions for which you have no expertise. Where a variety of treatments are available to you, the final choice will be yours to make. In light of the fact that you probably have little medical knowledge in the area of breast cancer, it can be a trying time as you determine which protocol to follow. Any physician worth his or her salt welcomes a second opinion for both diagnoses as well as available treatments.
Consult hospitals and centers that specialize in cancer treatment for second opinions to not only insure a correct diagnosis but to bolster confidence in the final choice of treatment.
I was encouraged by my doctor to get a second opinion. Armed with my x-rays and lab results, I headed for Dana Farber in Boston. There I was offered treatments that mirrored those at home. Armed with the knowledge that my medical care was the best available, I headed home to begin my treatment.
