Cancer Doctors And Specialists
How do I pick the right cancer doctor for me?
There are a couple of things that have to match. The personalities have to match. You have to be on the same page with your physician because this is going to be your advocate, this is someone who you got to be able to talk to, you got to be able to call and get to know that in the first thirty seconds of the conversation that they are immediately in sync with you and that they understand where you are coming from. Because if you do not have good communication, you're surely not going to have a good outcome. I think next, you have to find someone who is qualified, meaning you want to be sure that the bulk of their practice, or significant part of their practice is centered around what ever problem you have. It's a fairly straight-forward question to ask a physician - "what percentage of your practice is devoted to treating this type of cancer?" And if at least forty to fifty percent of their practice is not devoted to dealing with those types of problems then that's probably not going to be the right person for you. The place they are at can vary - there are some people who are very well trained to treat certain tumors who are in big medical centers, some are in more cozy medical centers - I don't think this is quite as important. I think the key is to ask the questions to be sure that's what they do on a regular basis and to be sure that the two of you are connecting on a human level.
How important is a second opinion if I've been diagnosed with cancer?
I think second opinion is critical. Not because the first opinion wasn't correct, I think the second opinion helps the patient. I tell my patients get a second opinion, get a third opinion, get a fourth opinion. I even give them names and I'll give you as much assistance in getting those opinions as I can, because I think it's going to do several things. Either, one; the patient will hear the same thing that I told them. That will give them confirmation, that "well I think Dr. Osborne was right I've heard it now twice." Or two; the patient will get new information that I didn't tell them, in which case they learn more about their disease than I gave them, that's also good for the patient. Or three; they're going to hear something totally contradictory to what I said, which I still think that's good for the patient because they'll come back and say "well Dr. Jones said that he thought I should us this chemotherapy agent, why did you feel I should use this one?" Then we can have a good discussion about that. I'd much rather them ask that question before the treatment than after they've been treated.
How do I get a second opinion when I've been diagnosed with cancer?
I think the best way to get a second opinion is either by personal referral if you happen to be fortune enough to have a physician or a friend who actually knows of another physician who is well respected in that field who can give you a name or a referral. If not, I think you need to rely upon your primary physicians. They usually are very well versed in who is in the community and can help you to navigate to another physician for a second opinion.
Will my insurance cover a second opinion concerning my cancer treatment?
Most insurance plans will cover a second opinion. There are a few that do not, but the bulk of them will. If you're in some of the HMO plans, they may be a little more difficult to get that second opinion, just based on the way the structure of those plans are set up. But even when they tell you that you can't, everyone has a case manager and a case worker. You need to find out who that is and contact that person, and they can help you get that second opinion.