This individual is a medical doctor with specialty training in the examination and diagnosis of cells and tissues. These tissues are removed from the body by various types of biopsy procedures. The pathologist then examines them under the microscope. It is a common misunderstanding that a definitive cancer diagnosis can be made on the basis of X-rays, mammograms, blood tests and physical examination. The reality is that mistakes are made in the diagnosis of cancer.
Diagnostic accuracy depends on the individual pathologist s training, experience and judgment.
These errors can lead to incorrect or inappropriate treatments that cause serious medical complications. If a patient or family member is aware of this possibility, there is an easy solution to catch most of these mistakes. The approach is to obtain a second opinion from an expert pathologist. These individuals have spent many years developing expertise in focused areas of cancer diagnosis and are available to do consultations on pathology microscopic slides. The site contains an in depth educational component about different cancer types, how pathologists make a diagnosis, frank discussions on medical errors and reasons to obtain a second opinion.