Cancer Online Second Opinion Can Save Money Time and Harassment

'Time and Health are two important assets; we don't realize it until they are depleted.'

This thought is perfectly related to a person going through Cancer treatment.

Once a person is diagnosed with Cancer, he is bound to have a lot of questions.

How serious it is?

Where can I get the treatment?

How long do I have?

Where to start?

Whom to trust?

Which hospital?

Which doctor?

What treatment?

Which medicines?

What about the expense?

And most important, do I require or is it right to seek a second opinion?

What is Second Opinion?

In medicine, a second opinion means an opinion from a doctor other than the patient's current doctor. In a second opinion doctor analyses or reviews a patient's medical records to give an opinion about the patient's disease, and suggests how it should be treated.

Why Second Opinion is important?

Consulting a different doctor doesn't mean that you are distrusting the first doctor's line of treatment. Another opinion is a part of the cancer care process. As important as chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and CT scan, a second opinion also plays a vital role in the #cancercurejourney. Getting a second opinion helps the patient to feel surer about the diagnosis and treatment plan. The second opinion gives a person a different perspective and a collaborative approach to dealing with the disease. According to a study, more than 80% of cancer patients who avail a second opinion change their line of treatment. Specialists in Medicine, Surgery and Radiation validate the diagnosis of cancer. The majority of cancers are diagnosed at the severe stage; hence the right treatment is more important than just a mere treatment for cancer.

Medical Second opinions on cancer are done through biopsy. A biopsy test is done to determine whether the cells in the body are cancerous. Moreover, the second opinion is also done in pathologies and laboratories. However, one needs to follow the prerequisites for seeking a second opinion in path labs:

• Carry the previous biopsy reports

• Brief the previous treatment details

• All the relevant diagnostics documents

• Current treatment details

Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre say that "Diagnosis for cancer requires a multi-disciplinary perspective. Tumour Board plays a vital role in the second opinion for cancer that is more critical than others." According to a WHO study, Cancer is a leading cause of death globally. Men are commonly diagnosed with Lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach and liver cancer, while breast, colorectal, lung, cervical and thyroid cancer are the most common among women.

Furthermore, WHO statistics for 2020 for cancer deaths are:

• lung (1.80 million deaths);

• colon and rectum (916 000 deaths);

• liver (830 000 deaths);

• stomach (769 000 deaths); and

• breast (685 000 deaths).

In addition to this cervical cancer is commonly diagnosed cancer globally. Some cancer types such as testicular seminoma, different types of leukaemia, and lymphoma have high cure rates if diagnosed and treated properly. Determining the goals of treatment is significant and a second opinion is an important part of it. Another significant factor in seeking a second opinion is it ensures reliable Palliative Care. Palliative care is a stress-free treatment rather than just the cure for cancer. It ensures that a person diagnosed with cancer can live a #normallifewithcancer. Palliative care is needed when a person is diagnosed at an advanced stage and there are fewer chances to cure. #SecondOpinion for cancer can result in a life-saving decision.

People also seek a second opinion because:

• To confirm the cancer diagnosis.

• To determine if cancer has spread.

• To validate their line of treatment.

• If they are not comfortable with the recommendations of their current expert.

• To understand if any alternative therapies or more advanced treatment options are available.

• If they have a rare type of cancer.

• If any super specialists are available for their type of cancer.

• If treatment options have very severe side effects and demand too many compromises.

• If their cancer is not responding well to your present line of treatment.

• If they don't have an access to good/top cancer experts in their town/city/village.

• If they wish to seek an opinion from a panel of doctors - 'a tumour board.'

How to get a Second Opinion?

It is very normal for a cancer patient to undergo a second opinion; especially from specialists or super specialists. One can consult his/her doctor about seeking a second opinion, as many experts recommend about it. There are also many organisations globally where you can seek a second opinion. One can easily research the organisations online. Depending upon the location and requirements one can search the organisations or institutions that provide a second opinion.

The experts give a second opinion by analysing cancer on various factors like stage, type, ongoing medical treatment, and previous diagnosis reports. For some cancers, getting a second opinion from pathologists or radiologists can be considered important. MRI second opinion is also the factor one should research about. A magnetic Resonance Image is a powerful tool to determine many types of cancers. Seeking a second opinion may have already cost a person too much- time, travel, and expense, so make sure that the second opinion is beneficial and start the treatment as soon as possible.

Primarily Second opinions are of two types: Physical Second Opinion and Online Second Opinion. We studied that physical second opinion involves time, travel, stay, and huge expense. Also, the required specialist may not be available locally, hence physical second opinion process can be lengthy and there is no surety about getting an appointment with the expertise. Hence Online Second Opinion can always be the best option. It can help you to avoid time, expense, and travelling. #Onlinesecondopinion is convenient because it offers seamless and undisturbed medical service digitally.

Cancer Samiksha is a comprehensive cancer care ecosystem that provides you with all the cancer care services from diagnosis to post-cancer care. With Samiksha seeking an online second opinion is an effortless process. The person has to register on the website- https://www.cancersamiksha.com/ and he is allotted with cancer counsellor after the registration process.

At Samiksha one can get an online opinion either from a single doctor or a group of doctors known as the Tumour Board.

Tumour Board Opinion

A joint opinion from Tumour Board consists of oncologists from medicine, surgery, and radiation. They discuss the case in detail and derive the most suitable line of treatment for the cancer patient. In various situations, if the case demands another specialist doctor to involve they include them as well. Tumour board opinion is always suggested as this process leaves no chance for mistakes.

Once reports are uploaded to Cancer Samiksha and received by their medical team, they prepare the case in chronological order and present the case in front of the tumour board.

Patients may get a chance to talk to the oncologist over the phone post tumour board analysis to understand their report and to clarify their questions if any.

Why choose Cancer Samiksha:

Convenience- As we all know, seeking a second opinion is a tedious task. Samiksha relaxes the stress by offering hassle-free online medical services. This also reduces the time, harassment, and never-ending financial appetite that the disease is already costing you.

Skilled team- Cancer Samiksha is connected with 40+ top cancer experts in India. It is connected to 10000+ patients until now. The patients and their families can rest assured as they will receive the best and most reliable online second opinion.

Personalized support- The patient is on the one-to-one video call with our experts. They are directly connected to our oncologist after the counselling. So, the time allotted to a particular patient is all his. Oncologists understand the patients' cases meticulously, review the medical history, and address queries. Thus, it helps a patient to build confidence.

Timely service- Once you register, our counsellor connects with you in no time. After reviewing the case, an expert is also allotted to the patient in the prescribed time by them.

A patient and his relatives always look for a doctor near their location. But credibility and reliability become the issue. Hence, they choose renowned organisations to seek a second opinion. Again, this increases the stress, time and harassment. Samiksha is the correct guidance to the patients trapped in this chakravyuh. It cuts down the turmoil that a physical second opinion gives you and also gives the opinion that is assured, reliable and unbiased.

Some Key Questions one should ask during a second opinion:

Patient and their close ones must be well informed about the disease. This is the first step to achieving the confidence and spirit to fight the disease. The following are relevant questions that will help you to gain more cancer information.

Is the doctor sure about a diagnosis?

For many cancers, molecular diagnosis is a significant part. It is important for matching the treatment. If the patient or relative has any ambiguity then they should ask about it.

What is the standard treatment and is there any more option?

Cancer has multiple treatments, based on the type and patient's medical history, the doctor decides the treatment. But the patient should always ask what type of treatment he will undergo and also explore the other options. It is important to understand the pros and cons of everything. Only the line of treatment is not enough, understanding the side effects is also important.

What are clinical trials relevant to a person's disease? Where they should seek it?

Cancer requires a multi-disciplinary approach. Hence the patient should understand the entire landscape of clinical trials where they are seeking an online second opinion. Also, they should be inquisitive about whether they should do the clinical trial in the same institute or elsewhere.

Cancer Samiksha being a complete ecosystem from diagnosis to post-cancer care, has developed #cancercommunity on various platforms. Join our telegram community to know more details about online second opinions as well as preventive measures for cancer.

Conclusion

Online Second Opinion has become the need of an hour for cancer patients. It not only saves their time but develops a sense of confidence to fight against the disease. Remember one should not be stubborn or defensive when he is seeking an online second opinion. Cancer patient is more empowered by having it. When a person seeks an online second opinion, he is free to ask both the doctors how they arrived at the line of treatment and interpreted the diagnosis. Patients can also ask what the doctors have recommended to other patients in the same situation.

Cancer Samiksha is a dynamic platform to seek Online second opinions.

Benefits are:

• Can save time.

• Can Save Money.

• Can Save travelling harassment.

• Unbiased.

• Reliable.

• Multiple expertise under one roof.

• Very cost-effective or No Cost Involved.

• Connect to an oncologist online at the convenience of home.

• Ask all your questions to the oncologist directly.

• Get detailed reports online.

How To Get a Second Opinion in 3 Steps

• Click on the link à Cancer Samiksha

• Upload and submit investigation reports and test documents.

• Get a call from The Cancer Samiksha Medical team

If you resonate with the information provided here, connect us on following platforms:

• Join Our Telegram Channel for regular updates on cancer - https://t.me/+kYNaOIqQKzJjYzA1

• Join What’s App Group for regular updates on cancer - http://bit.ly/2EFQRtZ

• Click to join our FB Page - https://www.facebook.com/CancerSamiksha

Note: One can directly share the investigation reports and test documents on Cancer Samiksha WhatsApp as well.

We are available on what’s app - +91 8888 233 233

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Yes I want a second opinion