The Importance of a Second Opinion

Note: This was initially written on March 8, 2013

By Vera Viner

First, I would like to tell the women reading this blog Happy International Women’s Day! It is amazing how much women have been able to achieve over time, especially over the last century.

However, while we may be able to become CEOs, doctors or astronauts, breast cancer is one disease that we have not eliminated from affecting our lives. Nonetheless, we have made great progress in treatment and diagnosis. We have saved the lives of many women. Despite this, there are still many inconsistencies within medical care, especially diagnostics.

For example, ABC News recently outlined the case of one woman who was initially told that she had breast cancer but a second opinion said otherwise.

“We see patients all the time, they come in with their reports all the time and their diagnosis says breast cancer,” Dr. Elisa Port, breast surgeon who works at Mount Sinai’, told the news source. ”We pass the slides off to our pathologists, who sends me back a report a day later saying, ‘don’t agree, this is not cancer,’ and it’s very clear cut that it is not … That’s probably one of the most critical pieces of information. That’s why no one gets near an operating room until those slides are reviewed.”

Because new technologies have advanced so much, mammography is able to detect the smallest of abnormalities and some changes may even be up to interpretation, according to the source. Sometimes slides with a particular biopsy can be somewhat “ambiguous.”

Judy Valencia was one woman who did not receive positive news after having a mammogram taken. She was told she had breast cancer and, because of her strong family history, decided to have both of her breasts removed.

After the hospital was having trouble finding some financial paperwork, Valencia’s lawyer went as far as having her biopsy sample reviewed again. They found that Judy never had cancer, but had unfortunately gone through with the surgery. As technology keeps advancing, it becomes more important than ever before to get a second opinion on one’s diagnosis.

Reference

ABC News article