Your Guide to Getting a Second Opinion for Breast Cancer

Written by Matt McMillen
Medically Reviewed by Zilpah Sheikh, MD on September 22, 2025
8 min read

Getting a breast cancer diagnosis is scary, and you will have lots of things to think about, discuss, and decide with your doctor. One priority — getting a second opinion.

Second opinions involve having another doctor review your diagnosis and treatment plan. That doctor will study the medical reports, lab results, and imaging that led to your diagnosis. Your second opinion doctor often will consult with other breast cancer experts, including:

  • Radiologists, who specialize in interpreting imaging tests, such as mammograms, ultrasounds, and MRIs
  • Pathologists, who specialize in evaluating breast cancer tissue to determine the correct diagnosis
  • Medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and breast cancer surgeons, who specialize in treating breast cancer

Together, this team will figure out what they consider the most accurate diagnosis and the best way to approach treatment.

“A second opinion can be helpful to patients when they have a new diagnosis of breast cancer,” says Swati Kulkarni, MD, a professor of breast surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine breast surgeon in Chicago, Illinois.

Kulkarni says a second opinion is important for several reasons:

  • It may confirm your initial doctor’s diagnosis and treatment plan, which will help you feel more confident about that approach.
  • It offers a second opportunity to hear important information about your diagnosis and treatment plan, so you have a better understanding of both.
  • It can present alternative treatment plans that you can compare with the original plan, allowing you to choose which is the best fit for you.
  • It allows you to see if another doctor is a better personality fit for you.

Second opinions are also important if you have a less common type of breast cancer that may require more specialized or complex care.

“In such cases, you can benefit from the greater expertise of a specialist rather than a generalist, and often that can be found at large major academic centers,” says Sharon Giordano, MD, MPH, the head of Breast Medical Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

And finally, getting a second opinion can be helpful for your initial physician. In fact, your doctor may be the one who encourages you to seek a second opinion in the first place.

“It can be valuable for referring physicians to get an additional opinion and another set of eyes by a peer or an expert in the field,” says medical oncologist Azka Ali, MD, a breast cancer specialist at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute in Cleveland, Ohio.

First, there's no wrong time to ask for a second opinion. However, experts say they are particularly important at certain points.

As soon as you are diagnosed

“Right after diagnosis but before starting treatment is the perfect time to get a second opinion,” says Giordano. “Generally, it's better to get the opinion before you start on the treatment, because once you've already started down a path and you're in the middle of a treatment, it's harder to change.”

When determining treatment after surgery

Several treatment options exist for post-surgery care, including:

  • Radiation therapy
  • Chemotherapy
  • Hormone therapy
  • Targeted therapy

Once your doctor makes a recommendation, seek a second opinion from a medical oncologist, a radiation oncologist, or both to be sure it’s the right choice for you.

If your doctor suggests changes to your current treatment plan

“Any time there’s a treatment decision to be made, it could be an appropriate time for a second opinion,” says Giordano.

The best place to start your search: your doctor. Your doctor can point you to local or national experts or treatment centers that specialize in your type of breast cancer.

“For instance, a patient with a rare tumor type may want to seek out a national expert or a physician conducting active research in that tumor type,” says Ali.

And rest assured: Your doctor will NOT be offended if you say you want a second opinion.

“Patients should know that doctors do not feel badly or take it personally that patients are getting a second opinion,” says Kulkarni. “I will often provide multiple names of physicians who I think would provide a good second opinion. At the end of the day, I want the patient to get the best care with a physician that they trust.”

In addition to getting recommendations from your doctor, you can do a search of your own. Consider the following resources:

Major cancer and medical centers. Search their websites for doctors who specialize in your type of breast cancer. If you do not live near a center but are able to travel, you have many options. An excellent resource is National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers, which can be found all around the US. 

Family and friends. Reach out to those you know who have been through breast cancer treatment to see if they recommend the physician who treated them.

Online forums. Message boards, such as the Breastcancer.org Community Forum and the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Survivors Network, are places to connect with others who can share their experiences and recommendations.

Second opinion services. Some large health care centers provide virtual or remote second opinions, in which you’re matched with an expert who reviews your records and provides recommendations for care. Keep in mind: most insurance does not cover online second opinions.

Most private and public insurance companies will cover you getting a second opinion. But always check to make sure. Find out if the second opinion doctor you are considering is in-network or out-of-network, because it could mean you have to pay additional money. 

In addition, some insurance companies may actually require you to get another opinion before starting any treatment plan. So, check with your insurance company. 

If you are on Medicare, after you meet your deductible for Part B, you would pay 20% of the cost of the second opinion. If the second doctor asks you to get more tests, they would be covered like any other medically necessary tests.

Your second opinion doctor will need to review your medical records before your appointment. The records you provide should include the following:

  • All notes written by the medical team managing your breast cancer treatment
  • All lab test results, which include any biopsies you’ve had and your pathology report
  • All imaging from the previous one to two years, such as mammograms and CT scans

Your medical records can be sent electronically from your current provider to your second opinion doctor, and you should request that it be done. However, Ali warns her patients not to rely solely on health record sharing between practices. Errors can happen.

“It’s always best to take stuff with you to avoid any unnecessary delays in your own care,” says Ali.

Take print copies of your records, which you can get from your online patient portal or from the medical records department where your doctor practices. If possible, have any medical imaging transferred to a compact disc (CD) or flash drive, and bring that with you as well, says Ali.

What questions should you ask at your appointment?

Your second opinion appointment should cover the following questions:

  • Is my diagnosis correct?
  • Do I need more tests?
  • Is my treatment plan the correct approach for my diagnosis? Why or why not?
  • If you don’t agree with my current treatment plan, what treatment do you recommend and why?
  • Is what you recommend more effective than my current treatment plan? Are the side effects or recovery more or less burdensome or risky?
  • Are there other treatment options I should consider, including participating in a clinical trial?

Giordano recommends taking a written list of questions with you to your appointment so you don’t forget to ask something important.

Giordano says that most breast cancers grow slowly and do not spread quickly, so you likely will have several months to research your options, especially if your cancer was diagnosed in an early stage.

Expect up to two weeks to process the transfer of your medical records, says Kulkarni. The review will take more time. How long depends on factors like the complexity of your diagnosis and how busy the second opinion doctor is.

You have much less time if you have been diagnosed with a very aggressive type of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is one example. This rare cancer requires quick decision-making.

“You’d want to be seen within a week or two” says Giordano. “There’s no time to waste.”

Some institutions have dedicated patient slots reserved for those needing to be seen quickly, such as in cases of inflammatory breast cancer, but this is not a universal practice, says Giordano.

Often, a second opinion will align with your initial doctor’s recommendation, says Giordano. That can reassure you that your treatment plan is right for you. But if the second opinion suggests a different approach to treatment, it may leave you wondering which to choose. Here’s what you can do.

First, says Ali, understand that two different treatment approaches may be equally effective and right for you. Share your second opinion with your original doctor, and ask both doctors to explain why they chose one treatment over another.

“Understanding the effectiveness of options and the rationale of recommendations is very important,” says Ali.

If you do prefer the approach recommended by your second opinion doctor, your initial doctor may be open to following that plan. Otherwise, inquire about switching to your second opinion doctor.

“If you find yourself in a situation where you need to transition your care to a different team, that is definitely your right,” says Ali.

Also important: Encourage both doctors to talk to each other about your case. If they’re both suggesting different but standard treatments, Giordano says, they can likely agree pretty easily so that treatment can move forward.

To help with the decision, she tells her patients to get familiar with breast cancer treatment guidelines published by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

“Take a look at them and see which recommendation is most consistent with those guidelines,” says Giordano.

If it’s still unclear, you can consider getting a third opinion, with a caveat.

“You have to be a little bit careful about getting too sidetracked from your treatment,” says Giordano. “But sometimes, if you really can't resolve it, that might be the only option.”

And finally, you don’t have to limit your discussions to your doctors. Kulkarni says you may want to include your family in the decision. And, she says, “Think about how you feel about the two options and which one you feel most comfortable with.”