Second opinions . . .

As you may have gathered, I’m a big fan of second opinions. (And third, and fourth, and . . . well, you get the idea.) Particularly in areas that are not clear cut.

Is medicine a science or an art? The best answer I ever heard was that it is an art practiced by scientists. So there is plenty of room for divergent opinion, inferior opinion, and even . . . erroneous opinion. This became abundantly clear during my first cancer rodeo fifteen years ago. So if I sometimes come across a bit jaded, forgive me but I’ve earned it.

One area in which I’ve been remiss in obtaining second opinions is in the reading of imaging studies. I’m not sure why that is. I suppose it may be because I don’t recall ever being face-to-face with a radiologist. For the most part they work behind the scenes, rarely if ever coming into contact with the patient. They confer directly with your physician. How do you know to obtain a second opinion when it is not even apparent that you received a first one?

As you may recall, I had a complete set of imaging studies performed two years ago: MRIs of the legs and pelvis, CTs of the abdomen and chest. Word was that the coast was clear of cancer. But given the apparent present recurrence and the fact that I now understand that I’ve been symptomatic for at least a year, I would like a second opinion regarding that last set of studies. As it now appears that the horse is out of the barn, I’d at least like to know that it wasn’t banging down the door two years ago. A friend’s father is a radiologist back east and he has graciously agreed to review my earlier films. I've met this man several times and know that I can trust his competency and honesty. So at the same time I requested a CD of today’s MRI, I also requested CDs of the prior studies which I will express mail to him tomorrow. If nothing else, this will hopefully provide peace of mind and allow for bracketing of the period of tumor growth.