Rare cancers

When dealing with a rare cancer, it is usually best to seek a second opinion, unless the diagnosis is made at a center that specializes in the treatment of this cancer. If a local expert is available, treatment should probably be switched to that doctor. If the expert is far away, which is likely, the home physician can usually coordinate treatment by phone or e-mail. Even if your cancer isn't rare, you may benefit from finding someone with a special interest in your specific type of cancer. For instance, kidney cancer is not really rare, but it's not common either. Usually patients with kidney cancer are treated on clinical trials carried out in one of several large institutions. This is because the clinical trial may require specialized treatment and there are not enough patients with kidney cancer at one institution to make the research meaningful.