[Ruchi]

Recommended place for a second opinion

by Ruchi on Fri Nov 16, 2012 5:50 pm

My mother is on maintenance treatment of Revlimid 10 mg everyday without break since past 5 months and she is doing good. My parents are planning to come to US in January. I live in Chicago, is there any place where I can take my mother for a second opinion? As she will be on Visitors visa, her insurance will not cover any costs for pre-existing conditions. But in India where my parents stay, they do not have a myeloma specialist. So as they are coming over here, I would really want to have a second opinion about her treatment and diagnosis. I can bring all the test results of my mother done so far. Does anybody know of a place where this can be done with reasonable cost, as any expenses will not be covered by insurance.
Also, is it ok to travel for more than 20 hours when you are on maintenance therapy. I mean are there any precautions that have to be taken during flight if she is on 10mg Revlimid dosage?

[terryl1]

Re: Recommended place for a second opinion

by terryl1 on Fri Nov 16, 2012 6:44 pm

You may want to contact the LLS (Leukemia and Lymphoma). Some hospitals also have charity care programs. They may have a program for this. Also, Revlimid can cause blood clots which can become pulmonary embolisms and be life threatening. This can be aggravated by being cooped up for hours, especially on planes. Make sure you speak to a doctor about her being given an anti-coagulant, low dose aspirin, etc. In my CRD trial, I take Fragmin since I had a pulmonary embolism in April. Others in my trial take low dose aspirin. Good luck with everything. Terry L.

[Beacon Staff]

Re: Recommended place for a second opinion

by Beacon Staff on Fri Nov 16, 2012 7:25 pm

Hello ruchi,

You may want to consult the Beacon's list of treatment centers, which you can find here:

https://myelomabeacon.org/resources/treatment-centers/

The two academic centers listed for Illinois are the University of Chicago and Northwestern University.