Hi Guys,
There arent many good specialists in my city and I need a an expert 2nd opinion for my wife. I looked up a few remote 2nd opinion services where I upload my reports onto a website and am then connected with a top specialist from US/Germany via video conference. I am trying to decide between using such a service or just flying to a specialist. Does anyone have any experience with such a remote 2nd opinion service or recommendations for using one. Any thoughts on their value would be much appreciated, thank you!
Hello John Beck,
Do you live in UK or USA?
The reason I ask is that the majority of BC ladies in the UK are treated through the NHS system.
The breast cancer specialists you are assigned to work within your local NHS hospital. In my particular case, my hospital had two breast cancer surgeons. I did not choose my specialist surgeon, she was assigned to me by the NHS hospital and I was very happy with this process. She was an excellent surgeon and highly respected.
The BCC Forum asks members not to post personal details/names of surgeons on the site because it is a public open forum. Therefore, I am 100% certain this would include giving names and recommendations of 2nd opinion service websites.
You will have to ask ladies who have experience of 2nd opinion services to give you the names via the private messaging facility.
Personally, I am very grateful for the NHS system in UK because I would have found it very stressful looking for a specialist BC surgeon when I was already in a state of shock at being diagnosed with cancer. I would also not feel comfortable using remote 2nd opinion websites.
I am sorry you are having to use these websites and that you are having to consider flying to a specialist to get the best for your wife.
I wish you good luck and hope you find a solution.
M x
Hi John, I haven’t sought a second opinion but I saw some thoughts on the website below which might be useful:
liz.oriordan.co.uk/BreastCancerBlog_files/knowledge-is-power.html
When I needed to decide whether to go ahead with chemo, I did quite a bit of web research on the chemicals being proposed (everyone says don’t do it, I know!). I found US general websites often had more detailed information than UK ones and the most comforting information was from the multitude of free abstracts and papers on the web which told me that what was being offered was supported by a multitude of research. I know this approach wouldn’t be for everyone…
I hope your wife finds the solution which is best for her and wish you all the best in your onward journey.