Second opinion / transfer

You can request your practicing physician, if possible, to start the process for you. Your general practitioner might not have all the information we need to assess your medical situation. We will have to put in a request for this information, which will make the process take longer.

Your physician can submit all information digitally through our referral page for clinicians. The information can also be faxed. All further information can be found on the referral page. Visual materials are usually submitted by mail as a CD-ROM. Once complete, our specialists will review all your information. This will take about 5 weekdays. Afterwards, we will inform you whether you will be invited for a second opinion consultation. You can find more information in our flyer.

We can determine your exact wait time once our specialist has reviewed your medical history. He or she will determine whether additional testing is required and which type of specialist you will need to see. This will take about five weekdays. Our Outpatient Back Office will contact you about your exact starting date and will let you know if any additional tests will be required.

You can find our average waiting times for the second opinion by types of cancer on our website. Please keep in mind that this is concerns averages and that your actual waiting time can vary per person, depending on the individual medical situation.

Most health insurance providers cover one second opinion a year. We still recommend asking your health insurance provider for information before starting the process. If your second opinion is covered by your insurance, all financial arrangements are done through your insurance provider.

If your health insurance does not cover the costs, we will ask you to pay an advance of €500.
​The actual costs will be settled afterward. These depend on the care provided, such as additional
testing. Our care administration department will contact you about the payment process.

You can. We will need to receive your medical history from your practicing physician in your country. These documents need to be submitted in Dutch or English. You can find medical translation agencies that can help you in this process. You can find more information in the flyers linked below.

Once all your information has been submitted, we will forward it to our specialist(s). You will not receive a confirmation. After the specialist(s) have assessed your medical history, we will contact you. This will take 5 weekdays on average. If you would like to know whether we have received all information from your referring hospital, or if you have any other questions about the status of your request, please contact our Back Office Department at +31 (0)20 512 9111 during regular office hours. 

Your specialists will review all your previous test results. This is why we need your hospital to send your medical history to the Netherlands Cancer Institute. Your specialist might invite you to repeat one of the tests, for which you will receive an invitation. This is why we can only schedule your appointment once we have evaluated your medical history and know if additional tests are required.

Most second opinion requests will result in a (video) consultation. This is not always the case: we might agree with the proposed treatment plan and don't have any additional information to give you, or we might feel that your treatment is too urgent for our current capacity. There could also be another reason why we cannot see you for a second opinion consultation. If this is the case, we will contact you with further information.

Are you invited to come in for a consultation? You will discuss your medical history with our specialist. Sometimes additional physical examinations are necessary, and sometimes we want to discuss your case with your practicing physician(s). There will also be room for questions. It might be a good idea to prepare your questions by writing them down in advance, so you won't forget them during the consultation. Your specialist will usually offer you further advice at the end of the consultation. A lot can be discussed during your appointment, so it can be helpful to bring someone with you or have someone listen along to the video consultation. If it turns out that further testing is necessary during the consultation, or if we need more information, we will schedule a second consultation.

You will usually receive your results during your consultation with your physician at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. In some cases, this is not immediately possible because we want to discuss your case during one of our multidisciplinary meetings, where specialists from various fields come together to review your situation. It will take a bit longer for your results to be ready if this is the case.

The recommendations you receive during the second opinion consultation may be different from the previous advice you have received. We do not automatically take over your treatment. If you do consider a transfer during your consultation, you can discuss your options with your specialist. We also recommend discussing your potential transfer with your current treatment specialist. He or she might be open to the treatment we suggested, so you can continue going to your current hospital. You can choose where you would like to receive your treatment. Your treatment will be continued at your current hospital until the transfer is complete.

When considering your treatment options, the following questions might be helpful: 

• How much is known about the success rates?
• Will the latest technologies be used?
• How much experience does the treatment team have?
• Will there be significant discomfort to my quality of life (survivorship)?
• Will you and your loved ones have to travel far for the treatment?
• How long will the treatment take?
• Do you trust your practicing physician?
• Will there be proper guidance?
• Will your treatment be covered by insurance?
• What are the waiting times?