Second opinion is essential in lung cancer

Second opinion is essential in lung cancer
UPDATE Approximately one quarter of the diagnoses that hospitals throughout the country had made in lung cancer, have been adjusted after pulmonary specialists at the VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam, a second opinion had been given.
That's Professor Peter lung Postmus announced today. He is one of the hosts of an international conference on lung diseases, which will be held this week in Amsterdam.

It pays very Postmus, according to a patient to get a second opinion from a specialist hospital. "In many cases people had been told nothing to do with their illness, and we still saw opportunities for treatment. But the reverse also occurred: People thought there was hope while we had to conclude that treatment no longer had. "

The hospital analyzed approximately 400 diagnoses were made in 2005-2009.

Own initiative
According Postmus people attach great value to a second opinion. "In our study, one third of the patients themselves have taken the initiative to another doctor in a large hospital for examination or diagnosis of their own doctor was correct."

It proves, he finds that most people do not object to travel far to find a good doctor to come. "In recent years has been a huge change in attitude. Previously it was natural to their own hospital in the neighborhood to go. Now patients lay off tens of kilometers without any problems. "

Denmark
The professor makes a comparison with Britain and Denmark. According to him there was a few years ago that there are relatively many patients died of lung cancer. "Research showed that the care in those countries were not well organized. Example, there was little cooperation. In Denmark, for example, there are four hospitals in the country who perform lung surgery, but hospitals are very specialized. Mortality is therefore declined. "

He expects that in the Netherlands as will. "Better still is that there is over a large number of hospitals is a central leadership. According to which one specializes in diseases, heart disease and the other in another in lung diseases. "