With 1 in 3 people develop cancer over their lifetime, accordingly it is bound to touch most families. It is devastating to get a potential cancer diagnosis, but the wait to confirm what type of cancer it is and how aggressive it is extremely stressing and emotional. Many patients and their families want immediate answers and, in many cases, a second opinion. Obviously, everyone wants to make sure that the cancer diagnosis is not only correct, but that the treatment plan is ideal for their disease.
Cancer patients and families often want a second opinion, but in many cases feel awkward and uncomfortable asking their current cancer doctor, as many feel that it shows of signs of distrust. One patient told us that “I wanted to seek a second opinion, but I just didn’t know how to ask, and I didn’t even know for sure if it was on option open to me”. Another patient’s son, residing in Canada, wanted a second opinion for his mother, who was in India, but he was unsure where and how he could get a second opinion from another doctor. Yet another patient told us that “I asked my doctor to refer me to another cancer doctor at PMH, who I heard was an expert in the cancer type that I was diagnosed with, and then I was told that the cancer specialist was not available. This left me with a few options, and I ended up having to travel to the US to get a second opinion. It took me a few weeks to get a spot and the cost was astronomical for the hour that Is spent with that doctor. Never mind the cost of travel…”
These are stories and conversations that we all heard and maybe even had ourselves. It is important for us to have the option to get a fast and timely second opinion from a cancer expert. We believe that patients should have the peace of mind that their cancer care is important and that it is okay to take charge of their cancer journey and it is totally normal to get second and even third opinion on their cancer diagnosis. We specifically designed EMRO.Cloud to offer a safe and stress-free means to gain a quality second opinion from cancer experts across the globe.