Is a second opinion needed for my aunt's stage II stomach cancer?

Question

Hello doctor,

My 49-year-old aunt was taken to the ER last year as she was having severe abdominal pain, after which she was diagnosed with stage II stomach cancer. Unfortunately, she did not have any other symptoms apart from abdominal pain, so she is not willing to take any treatment for this.

So my concerns are:

Do you think I should get a second opinion on this?
How do I go about this?
Can this progress to stage IV if left untreated?
How common is it for people to develop stage IV cancer without noticing until it is too late?

Kindly suggest.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I read your query and understand your concern.

The problem with cancers is that there are few symptoms, especially in the early stages. So the rule is to detect cancer early, treat it appropriately, and save a life.

You can take a second opinion, but the second opinion may not be significantly different. It needs treatment. Once secondaries develop, then treatment may not be of much help.

Thank you.