Second opinion?

RaeBob

I was diagnosed 3 weeks ago with ER-PR-HER2 breast cancer. My tumor was 1.2 cm I had a lumpectomy which was done last week. Sentinel node was clear. The tumor was invasive but came back with clear margins. The pathology report showed markers that there were DCIS cells still there. My oncologist said they were not cancerous and the invasive tumor was removed and I was considered Stage 1.

He said a mastectomy, which I wanted, would be a good move because of the presence of the DCIS cells but first I need to do the chemo Cytoxan Taxotere, every 3 weeks and Herceptin every week. I wanted the mastectomy before chemo but he feels I need to heal from the lumpectomy start chemo not wait any longer and then at the end have a mastectomy. I plan on getting a bilateral with reconstruction.

Should I get a second opinion and does this sound correct? Are there others on here with a similar diagnoses? I feel like my life has been turned upside down and I am just trying to see my way out of the fog. Thank you. Rae

peggy_j

Your Dx is very different than mine, so I can't speak to that, but in general, second (and even third) opinions can be good. Why not? I believe most insurance companies cover a second opinion. FWIW, I switched MOs because I felt like I didn't connect with the first one. He wasn't horrible just "meh" (even though he has 30+ yr experience). Now I have an MO I love. I even hugged her at the end of one appt. crazy. Good luck Rae. This is a hard time but you'll get through it.

NatsFan

Hi Rae - Like Peggy, your dx is different than mine, but I wholeheartedly agree that second opinions are an excellent thing to get.  If the second onc says the same as the first, then you'll feel better.  And if the second onc says something different, you can ask each onc why they are making the recommendations they are, and get a third opinion if you need to.

Each doctor you see will also have his or her own way of explaining things, and each way is a little different.  I found that the more doctors I saw, the more I learned about my case and the more confident I felt in making my decsions.  Good luck.