How many medical opinions are necessary to declare a patient to be terminally ill?
lockjaw_phobia asked:
Say a person is diagnosed with cancer, how many medical opinions are necessary to confirm whether or not the cancer can be treated or is not curable?
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on Friday, January 16th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Cancer.
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Say a person is diagnosed with cancer, how many medical opinions are necessary to confirm whether or not the cancer can be treated or is not curable?
January 16th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
one, the person diagnosing the illness will be a specialist and well versed in the disease, its progression and prognosis. They will have seen scan results interpreted not by them but by radiographers, blood results, symptoms and the person. If this is the case they will be referred on to palliative care services.
January 17th, 2009 at 1:14 am
A medical oncologist alone can make this determination and complete a Physician Certification of Terminal Illness.
January 18th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Sad to say, but with the improvements in medicine and technology, it’s usually a pretty good diagnosis when the type and stage are identified. For the patient’s well-being, another opinion may be asked for, but will usually echo the first diagnosis. Things change on an almost daily basis, and oncologists are given new options to use on patients almost minute by minute. So, asking for a second or third opinion may not change the diagnosis, but can certainly educate the patient on the latest options for treatment.
January 19th, 2009 at 4:47 am
You only need one(oncologist) but I would get a second opinion on the terminal part. The word terminal or stage 4 cancer means the cancer has gone out of the organ that it was housed in and is spreading to other sites or organs.