Two Visits Too Many: Fighting For A Second Opinion

Learning to speak up

I had to switch oncologists due to a move. I had been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer 5 years earlier. One of the final instructions from my first oncologist was to "speak up, you don't always have to be strong".

I had a reputation for not wanting to complain. I had even suffered through extreme pain in my jaw and eye socket without realizing they were symptoms of bisphosphonate (Zometa) induced osteonecrosis. I then endured 5 surgeries and experimentation with different pain drug regimens over several months to find one that numbed the extreme pain while leaving me able to function.

Two visits, two red flags

On my first visit with a doctor at the University of Iowa, we talked about my prescriptions. He refused to renew my pain meds and said, "We don't want you to get into trouble." What are pain meds for if not a stage 4 cancer patient with bone involvement?! Thankfully, I had renewals available through my first oncologist.

At my second appointment with him, I showed him 2 new lumps I was feeling in my opposite breast. I asked about further testing. He declined, stating, "Not everything is cancer."

Fighting for a second opinion

I contacted the cancer center multiple times to ask for an appointment with a different oncologist. I had other specialists at the University that I liked, and I wanted all my care in one place. It took two months, and I had to involve the Patient Advocate office before I was scheduled with a different doctor. I felt like he noted my chart as a drug seeker based on my first conversations with the follow-up oncologist. We have a good relationship now, finally.

Trusting my instincts

And the two lumps were cancer, and I had to have a second mastectomy and removal of three ribs, as it had spread so far into them. The Patient Experience Office has followed my care closely ever since, and I do feel I receive excellent care. I have learned to trust myself and that doctors aren't always right.