Even the best can make a bad judgment call. This is not to say that he has, but we hear it so much on the board that someone missed this, or disregarded that, it gives you cause for pause so to speak, when you hear this again and again. Pain is a symptom not a disease. To have pain, there must exist a problem. The process of differential diagnosis is like a mystery; you have a clue, in your case pain, now you must run through all the possible reasons to determine the answer to the mystery of why it exists. Often times people are so accustomed to the predictable answer that they exclude the less obvious answers. Just because you have been seen by someone of some notoriety, does not mean that you shouldn't seek another opinion form a different doctor of perhaps a different discipline. The continuation of symptoms is a sign that should be followed up on. While this doctor may be celebrated for his expertise, he, like all of us can make a mistake. Second opinions are usually worth the effort... and you do not need a referral from him to go and get one. None of this means that the big C is in your life, but something is not right. As I said before, 15 months is a long time to live with a symptom that does not resolve. You need another opinion.