If you’ve been diagnosed with liver cancer, we recommend getting a second opinion before choosing where you’ll be treated.
Though you can benefit from a second opinion at any time, it is most valuable when you are first diagnosed and have the widest array of treatment options.
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) has the region’s only liver tumor clinic, located at University of Washington Medical Center, where our surgical, medical and radiation oncologists come together with hepatologists and transplant specialists each week to discuss and care for people with liver cancer. During a single visit you get the second opinion of not one doctor but an entire group of specialists.
Talk with liver cancer experts who understand your disease in greater depth than the general oncologists in your local community.
Call us at (855) 557-0555 to request an appointment for a second opinion.
How a second opinion can help
Getting a second opinion from doctors who specialize in liver cancer can help you:
Feel confident that your cancer has been accurately diagnosed and staged
There are several types of liver cancer, and evaluating the stage of these tumors can be complex. Pathologists, radiologists and gastroenterologists from SCCA are experts in diagnosing liver cancers and have access to the latest technologies to help ensure we know as much about your cancer as possible.
Consider state-of-the-art treatment options
A second opinion may identify better, more advanced or more aggressive options, including a liver transplant, minimally invasive surgery, thermal ablation, transarterial chemoembolization, the latest radiation therapies (including proton therapy), and clinical studies of new chemotherapies or other techniques.
Understand the benefits of specialized, multidisciplinary care
The team of liver cancer specialists from SCCA offers in-depth understanding of the full spectrum of treatments. We have first-hand knowledge of current research and a wealth of treatment experience.
Start with a course of therapy tailored to you
We focus on you, not just your cancer, when developing a treatment plan. We consider your goals, plans, beliefs, values and preferences to design your treatment holistically.
Learn whether genetics play a role
Your genetic make-up may have played a role in the development of your cancer, and it might impact your treatment. Depending on our findings, you and your family may benefit from SCCA’s Gastrointestinal Cancer Prevention Program.
Treatment that removes or destroys all or part of a cancer; can also be used to remove or stop the function of an organ. For example, removing the ovaries or testicles or taking medicines that cause them to stop making their hormones would be called ablation. Besides surgery and drug treatment, other ways of ablating body tissues and tumors include extreme heat, freezing and chemicals.
Chemoembolization A procedure in which the blood supply to a tumor is blocked after anticancer drugs are given in blood vessels near the tumor.A procedure in which the blood supply to a tumor is blocked after anticancer drugs are given in blood vessels near the tumor. Sometimes, the anticancer drugs are attached to small beads that are injected into an artery that feeds the tumor. The beads block blood flow to the tumor as they release the drug. This allows a higher amount of drug to reach the tumor for a longer period of time, which may kill more cancer cells. It also causes fewer side effects because very little of the drug reaches other parts of the body. Chemoembolization is used to treat liver cancer. Also called TACE and transarterial chemoembolization.