Sometimes you may feel that it is necessary to get a second opinion. You may have concerns about the treatment recommendations or may worry that there are other options that have not been presented. If you ever feel that you have not received enough information or that you are uncomfortable with the treatment recommendations from your urologist and/or oncologist, then it is appropriate to seek a second opinion. Your physicians should be confident enough in their recommendations that they are neither intimidated nor angered by your desire to seek a second opinion.
If you experience either of these reactions, then you can be confident in your decision to seek a second opinion. Generally, your physicians will hope that you return to them to discuss the second opinion afterward, especially regarding anything that is divergent from their own recommendations. Most patients return to their original caregiver after getting a second opinion, although you are never obligated to do so.
In the end, it is most important that you are comfort-able with your treatment plans before beginning therapy. With any form of therapy, it is important to ensure that those physicians at the center where you will be receiving treatment are well experienced with the particular choices that you have made. It is always reasonable to ask your urologist, oncologist, or radiation therapist what his or her (or the institution’s) own success rates, failure rates, and complication rates are. If you seek a second opinion, try to compare these rates between the two to help decide which is best suited to you.
As physicians, we often quote the results of large studies published in highly regarded medical journals that show a treatment to be safe and effective. As patients, however, what matters most to you are the results of your local team. If you are concerned because of a lack of information regarding those results, it may be a good time to seek a second opinion. Some patients are reluctant to seek second opinions because they worry that their doctor will be offended. In reality, any qualified physician understands the difficult decisions that you face and wants you to feel as comfortable as you can with these.
In fact, most physicians will help to arrange for copies of your pathology reports, clinic notes, laboratory tests, and X-rays to be sent to the doctor you are seeing for a second opinion. In some areas, your physician will be able to recommend other highly qualified physicians for you to see. It is best if the second physician is not a member of the same group to help ensure objectivity, but when this is your only option, you can rest assured that physicians remain fiercely independent today and will usually give you their honest opinion despite friend-ships and partnerships.