3. Go for two
No doctor knows everything. Here's how to get another viewpoint
It's tough to go up against godlike powers, to confront someone viewed with reverence, who can exacerbate illness or offer cures. It's hard to take on the almighty--to tell a doctor that you want a second opinion.
"Patients often feel their doctors are God. This is someone they've seen and trusted, perhaps delivered their children," says Carla Dionne, executive director of the National Uterine Fibroids Foundation, a patient support group. They worry about making their first physician angry. "People have to get over that hurdle, because it can hurt them," Dionne says. "It's astounding to me, for example, how many women with uterine cancer let their general gynecologists do surgery on them. They don't go to a gynecologist-oncologist."
A second opinion is a fresh set of eyes, a new degree of knowledge, brought to bear on your condition--and the difference in doctors can make a difference in care. In breast cancer patients, one study showed that a second exam by a specialist changed treatment options for 20 percent of the women. And for patients with liver problems, a review of their tests by pathologists specializing in liver disease revealed new information--like the presence of cirrhosis--nearly 30 percent of the time. "If your doc hasn't seen a condition like yours before or has only limited experience with it, a second opinion can be quite useful," says Deepak Bhatt, an interventional cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic.
But it can be daunting to look for the right expert. There's no yellow pages category called "Best doctors who know the most about your particular situation who are also in your area and who are covered by your insurance plan." Yet by putting together some easily obtainable information--from friends and families, from other doctors, and from the Internet--you can figure out four crucial things: when you need this extra help, where to find it, what to do with the advice, and how much it will cost you.
When to ask. If you have a complex condition, like blocked coronary arteries after two bypass operations, then a second opinion is a good idea. It won't change a diagnosis but might give you more treatment options: artery-opening stents, for instance, instead of more surgery. Likewise, get that other opinion if the treatment your doctor currently recommends has severe side effects or involves major surgery--or if it isn't working. And "if you aren't communicating well with your doctor, look for someone else," adds Monica Morrow, a surgical oncologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.
Communication trouble can have serious repercussions. Yong Staranowicz, a 64-year-old from Appleton, Wis., was diagnosed with lung cancer this past summer. Her oncologist, she says, "was all doom and gloom." So she decided not to have any treatment. But a friend persuaded her to see a lung cancer specialist at the University of Wisconsin's cancer center, Sarita Dubey. "Dr. Dubey explained things a lot better. She told me how chemotherapy could ease my symptoms. I liked her tone. She gave me courage." In fact, Dubey recommended the same chemo as the first doctor did, but--now aware of the benefits--this time Staranowicz decided to do it. She even went back to her initial oncologist, near her house, to get the chemo.
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