Second-opinion finder

Who to ask, where they are, and how to get referred. Pick your cancer and country to see the centres OnCo links to that cancer (yours first) with what can be measured about each: designations, trials for the cancer, research output and the machines on record; the clinicians and scientists who work on it; and a plain-language guide to how second opinions work in your health system: who refers, what records to send, remote review services, cost and timing, with sources.

Cancer and country are seeded from your browser profile and region switcher; nothing leaves your device.

Choose a cancer to see where the expertise is.

The referral guide for your region is below and does not need a cancer.

How second opinions work

United States

You can ask any cancer centre directly for a second opinion; no referral is required, although many insurers want a referral or prior authorisation before they pay for it.
Start with an NCI-designated cancer centre for your cancer type; the NCI list has one entry per centre with the disease programmes it runs.
Gather the pathology report, the slides or a digital scan of them, imaging on disc or via a portal link, the operation note if you had surgery, the molecular or genomic report, and a one-page timeline of treatments and dates. Most centres will not give an opinion without the original pathology.
Ask your current oncologist to send records electronically; most centres also accept records uploaded by the patient.
Medicare Part B covers a second opinion before surgery when the surgery is itself covered, and a third opinion if the first two disagree; other insurers set their own rules, so check before you book.

Cost

Varies. Insurance often covers an in-person second opinion with a referral; online record-review services are usually paid out of pocket and the price is on each centre's page.

Timing

In-person appointments at large centres are commonly within one to three weeks; online record reviews are typically quoted in days to two weeks once records arrive.

Remote review and where to start

Cleveland Clinic virtual second opinions
Online review of records by a Cleveland Clinic specialist, with a written report; the page lists the process and how to submit records.
Memorial Sloan Kettering: become a patient
MSK's new-patient page covers in-person and remote consultations and how records and pathology are sent.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana-Farber offers an online second opinion service; find it from the site's patient and family section.

Sources: NCI: Find a Cancer Center · American Cancer Society: Seeking a second opinion · Medicare: Second surgical opinions · checked 2026-09-09

What a second opinion is for. Confirming the diagnosis and stage, checking that all relevant biomarkers were tested, hearing whether a different sequence of treatments or a trial is reasonable, and, for surgery or radiotherapy, whether a higher-volume centre would do it differently. Bring your question list and your line-of-therapy summary. OnCo is orientation, not medical advice.

United States

You can ask any cancer centre directly for a second opinion; no referral is required, although many insurers want a referral or prior authorisation before they pay for it.

Start with an NCI-designated cancer centre for your cancer type; the NCI list has one entry per centre with the disease programmes it runs.

Gather the pathology report, the slides or a digital scan of them, imaging on disc or via a portal link, the operation note if you had surgery, the molecular or genomic report, and a one-page timeline of treatments and dates. Most centres will not give an opinion without the original pathology.

Ask your current oncologist to send records electronically; most centres also accept records uploaded by the patient.

Medicare Part B covers a second opinion before surgery when the surgery is itself covered, and a third opinion if the first two disagree; other insurers set their own rules, so check before you book.

Cost

Varies. Insurance often covers an in-person second opinion with a referral; online record-review services are usually paid out of pocket and the price is on each centre's page.

Timing

In-person appointments at large centres are commonly within one to three weeks; online record reviews are typically quoted in days to two weeks once records arrive.

Remote review and where to start

Cleveland Clinic virtual second opinions
Online review of records by a Cleveland Clinic specialist, with a written report; the page lists the process and how to submit records.
Memorial Sloan Kettering: become a patient
MSK's new-patient page covers in-person and remote consultations and how records and pathology are sent.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana-Farber offers an online second opinion service; find it from the site's patient and family section.