Talk Cancer

Question:

How do you find a doctor for a second opinion? My thinking is, if you ask the first doctor, they will refer you to someone who thinks like they do.  If you go to the yellow pages, you don’t know this doctor from Adam. How much is second opinion?  how do you pay for second opinion?  Does insurance cover this? My Mom is on Medicaid with a private supplement.  I am not really familiar with how coverage works on either of these. HJ

Response:

For a second opinion, call the nearest hospital near you with a Cancer center, a teaching hospital if possible, and ask for the top doctor who specializes in the type of cancer that your mother has.  Then call and make an appointment. Second opinons are often paid by insurance but it depends on her plan.  

Response:

Depending on the state or area in which you live. To  get an independent 2nd opinion may require a trip to a different state/ if all area tests are sent to the same lab.  After a 3 year period of tests and indecision, my wife went to another state — where in one day  The MD examined her and said that she needed to see a cancer specialist. Prognosis is that they could operate but that it would probably just hasten the inevitable. Anybody know a good way to tell a 13 year old daughter that their mother will not be around for her high school years. Time is precious don’t waste it.

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