The news of cancer diagnosis is an extremely serious and almost all cases a very difficult blow both for the patient as well as his/her family members. It can be devasatating emotionally and most people react in shock and in fact many of them go initially into denial and then it is generally followed by anger.
Many people wonder whether they should get a second opinion about their diagnosis?
I think, in general, it is a very good idea to go for a second opinion for a number of reasons.
First and foremost among them is that an accurate assessment of the specifics of your cancer is a major pre-requisite for the effective treatment plan that will give you the very best shot at dealing with your cancer.Unfortunately,in the field of oncology, that is not always easy. Even in a country like US with the world's best diagnostic and clinical infrastucture for cancer care, a study estimated that 1 in 5 cases of cancer is either mis-diagnosed or improperly staged. ( You must know that accurate staging of the cancer is as important as the correct diagnosis for the treatment to be effective).
In India while there is no such comparable study available to give relevant statistics, my assessment is that the figure is at least 2 in 5 or 40% . That really is a rather unfortunate and alarming situation but then we must not forget that in India an extremely large number of cancer go completely undetected or undiagnosed.
The other major reason for suggesting a second opininon is that cancer is rarely detected by an oncologist. In most cases it is detected by a general physician, a gynaecologist, a urologist or any other such specialists. They in turn then refer you to an oncologist---either a medical oncologist or a surgical oncologist or in some cases to a radiation oncologist. In a large number of cases most of these oncologists do not agree amongst themselves and therefore if you got referred to a surgeon, you will most likely be recommended a surgical removal of your tumour. On the other hand, a medical oncologist is very likely to recommend you a chemotherapy regimen . A radiation therapy course may be recommended by the both.
So, you see it gets really complicated and poses a big dilemma for the patient and the family members to decide on the future course of action.
My recommendation is that choose a comprehensive cancer centre for getting the second opinion. Approach a medical oncologist for an overall opinion but before that make sure that the medical oncologist is a properly qualified one. If he or she has had some international experience either in US or in Western Europe then that is really preferrable. Ask your medical oncologist whether they a tumour board at that cancer centre or not. A tumour board consists of specialists from all three branches of oncology mentioned earlier as well as the specialists from the diagnostic branch/ nuclear medicine area and also from pathology / lab. support areas.
Make sure that your case gets taken up in the tumour board. The suggested treatment plan from the tumour board will generally be the best way forward for you.
Presently, there are also options available for a tele-consult from an international cancer centre/ specialist in US and that might be a very cost effective option as well compared to the cost of going overseas. The NCCN( National Comprehensive Cancer Network---a non profit alliance for the world's 21 leading cancer centres) treatment guidelines are now widely available and the treatment plan suggested can easily be administered here.
So, overall if you or any of your family members ( or a near and dear one) has been diagnosed with cancer then please follow the suggestions given above because it is a matter of a precious life for "Every Life Matters".
Good luck and God bless.
Pradeep K Jaisingh
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