Second opinion?

Ladyc2020

Dx 8/4 with IDC. MRI showed 2 additional spots last week, 1 near the chest wall. I was started on neoadjuvent Tamoxifen a few days ago, have more biopsies tomorrow and follow up with the surgeon on Wednesday. MO ordered tamoxifen over the phone so I didn’t ask too many questions, it was a fast 5 min call. I have done a ton of reading since then and while I may be a good candidate for the treatment, I am thinking I would like a second option.

I’m in a small town in California, and wonder if anyone has ideas for Getting a second opinion. I did a fast look at SF breast cancer centers but have no recommendations for any place. LA hospitals?

Moderators

Hi Ladyc! Until you get responses from other members here, there is an extended section on Getting a Second Opinion in our main site that you may find interesting, see here some links:

6 Tips for Finding a Specialist for a Second Opinion

Deciding Where to Go for a Second Opinion

Why Seek a Second Opinion?

The Second Opinion Process: What to Expect

Hope this helps, and good luck with tests results!!

The Mods

Ladyc2020

thank you so much for these links!

MinusTwo

Lady - I'd recommend an NCI hospital. There are several in CA. Below is the link. You should be able to get a recommendation from your PCP or your OB if your insurance requires that.

https://www.cancer.gov/research/infrastructure/can...

arabiansrock

Lady, where in Ca are you? In Southern Ca there is UC San Diego Medical Center. In Los Angeles most likely USC and UCLA would have Breast Cancer Centers. I have heard UCSF in San Francisco is good, and of course there is Stanford in Palo Alto.

Trishyla

Also City of Hope in Duarte. They are a renowned, world class cancer treatment research facility. I get my care there and highly recommend them.

Ladyc2020

thank you Arabian and minus2

Trish - yes I checked them out and reached out to cedars cinai and city of hope for second opinion using the online form. Once I have my other biopsies Monday, I would like the second opinion. I am 3.5 hours drive from LA and SF and can’t reallysee myself being treated there, but would pay the $700 for the second opinion on the treatment plan and pathology.

MinusTwo

Lady - are you in the central valley? Hope you aren't having problems with the fires.

robinorbit

LadyC2020 --

I just wanted to wish you good luck with your biopsies tomorrow.

Robinorbit

Ladyc2020

minus2 - im on the coast, and the smoke has mostly cleared now. Thankful we do not have large fires nearby.

Ladyc2020

Robin - thank you for your good wishes! It is now next Monday.

Ladyc2020

update- after various calls, I decided to go with Stanford for my second opinion on treatment plan. As I still don’t know what my surgery will be, I am unsure if I would do it locally or travel. I’m a single mamma with 3 kiddos so travel may be too complicated. However, I am hoping to learn about various recommendations. At this point, I am leaning towards flat and fabulous, but not completely sure yet. Recovery time and future risk of illness/ additional surgery are the biggest factors in my decision. Also I don’t know if a Mx or partial is recommended. It was a lumpectomy before the other spots were found.

Beesie

As an FYI, a partial MX and a lumpectomy are the same surgery. Technically more breast tissue is removed during a partial MX but in reality the terms are interchangeable. "Partial MX" doesn't seem to be used much these days or may be used only for insurance purposes. My mother had a lumpectomy and then required a very small re-excision to widen the surgical margins. To ensure no hassles getting insurance approval, her doctor coded the second surgery as a partial mastectomy, so that the insurance company wasn't being asked to pay for the same operation twice. As a result, her second surgery sounded by it's name to be more serious, but it was actually the smaller and easier surgery.

Good luck with the biopsies!

Ladyc2020

Thank you Beesie I used both terms for the same thing

how is your mother doing??

Beesie

Ladyc, my mother is good, thanks for asking. She was 80 at time of diagnosis and is 96 now. Physically doing well but has Alzheimer's, unfortunately. But still able to keep active and busy at her LTC home, which thankfully has been Covid-free (knock on wood).

Ladyc2020

Wow she sounds like a strong woman!