I'm leaving on my other post where I asked for advice. There were quite a few suggestions to get another opinion. Our four kids are pushing for this too. What is the best way to go about getting a second opinion? Should I get on the internet and find phone numbers for Comprehensive Cancer Centers and call? Maybe I should get copies of all records and send them and see if one of these hospitals will see Jack? Maybe I should talk to one of his oncologists and have them start the ball rolling??? I always feel when I talk to a doctor about a second opinion that they may take it personally thinking that I feel they are incompetent or whatever.

From the reading I have done at OCF, I see M. D. Anderson and Johns Hopkins at the top of most lists for expertise in oral cancer. As Dan Bogan said though, Mayo's is located very close to us in Wisconsin. I know they do good work with some cancers. What about oral cancer? Does anyone have an opinion?

Thanks in advance for helping us out.

Lowanne

Hello Lowanne,

Don't ever feel bad about asking your treating doctor to refer you for a second opinion. It's Jack's life were talking about here. You have to be his advocate. Not all doctors have the ability to properly dx this diaease. Not all scans will pick it up. Be agressive asking questions.
I don't know if Mayo is a leading Head & Neck cancer center. Gary has posted a link to the major ones. If you look at some of his recent postings you will find it.

Best of Luck, Danny Boy

Hi Lowanne,
When I got a second opinion, I asked and did research about which institutions nearby had a comprehensive cancer center. Most of this I did on the web. The links that Danny is referring to are:
The National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Programs
url: http://cis.nci.nih.gov/fact/1_2.htm
and
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network
url: http://www.nccn.org/members/network.asp
You might want to investigate institutions relatively nearby such as the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

Most of these centers have web sites with contact information. Some specify who to contact for second opinions. Once you've decided on where you'd like to get your second opinion (and perhaps members of the forum who are geographically near to you can make some suggestions), you should then inform your current doctor(s) that you are getting a second opinion and provide them with information on where to send all of the information that is required.

In my case, this included slides from the margin, pre-surgery ct scan, plus surgeon's report. My doctor encouraged me to get a second opinon and shipped the necessary stuff in less than a week. Hope this helps. Best of luck, Sheldon

Thanks Danny and Sheldon.

We see the doctor today and will bring up the second opinion. I think his doctor did a residency at Northwestern, so he may have an opinion about trying Lurie. I'll let everyone know what we find out. We should finally get the results of the bone marrow sample as well. I'm still worried about this.

Thanks loads.

Lowanne

Please take a look at the resources page on the main website. Most of what you are looking for, (good centers, "best hospitals" link ) can be found there. There are good centers located near you on that list. Also on the staging page of the site there is a link to another page on getting second opinions.

Please take a look at the resources page on the main website. Most of what you are looking for, (good centers, "best hospitals" link ) can be found there. There are good centers located near you on that list. Also on the staging page of the site there is a link to another page on getting second opinions.

There are so many places to find things on this site that I never have investigated. Thanks, Brian, for suggesting these two.

We chatted with the oncologist about whether we should be seeking second opinions. He has talked to quite a few collegues, both locally and elsewhere, on his own. He welcomes anything additional we can find since it will either confirm that what he is doing is correct or teach him new approaches. The conclusion of our visit was that we would wait and see if the treatments continue to reduce the size of the cancer the way they have so far.

Our new concern is that his platelet count continues to be so low for no apparent reason. This originally changed the type of chemo he is receiving and now has postponed it for another week. If I can keep my sneezing and coughing controlled, I plan to investigate low platelet counts tonight. I haven't had a sniffle since I retired 6 years ago. I've forgotten how miserable they can be.

Lowanne