Recently Diagnosed? Start Here for Your Second Opinion
You’ve just been told you have prostate cancer, kidney stones, bladder cancer, or another urologic condition. Suddenly you’re being asked to make big decisions, and everything feels urgent. However, the most valuable thing you can do right now is slow down long enough to understand what your diagnosis means and to learn about all available treatment options. This will help you make informed decisions before committing to a specific treatment or a particular surgeon.
For most newly diagnosed urologic conditions, you will have that time. And our urologists have spent more than 50 years helping patients in Los Angeles use that time well. A second opinion at Tower Urology is a straightforward conversation about what your results actually mean, what your choices are, and what we would recommend, just as if you were a member of our own family.
Call us at (855) 246-2700 or request your appointment online.
Why a second opinion is worth your time
Asking for another point of view isn’t a sign that you distrust your first doctor. According to the National Cancer Institute, getting a second opinion after a cancer diagnosis is very common. Many insurance plans cover it, and it might be required if surgery has been recommended.
Here’s what a review usually accomplishes
How can a second opinion confirm your existing treatment plan?
Most of the time, a second opinion validates the initial diagnosis and treatment plan that was originally recommended. That’s an empowering and reassuring outcome in its own right. Patients who start treatment feeling confident about their decision tend to move through recovery with more assurance. They know exactly why they chose to move forward with their plan over the alternatives.
Can a second opinion reveal new treatment options?
Not every practice offers every available treatment, so the recommendations you received when first diagnosed may reflect what was available at that particular clinic rather than all possible options. A review might consider:
- Active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer;
- A kidney-sparing partial nephrectomy instead of removing the whole kidney;
- A bladder-preserving strategy; or
- A clinical trial you hadn’t heard about.
How does a second opinion help you understand your full diagnosis?
Pathology reports, imaging, and lab values are written for clinicians, not for patients. However, part of what our urologists do during a second-opinion visit is to translate those results for you. We believe it’s important that you understand what they mean and that this knowledge helps you decide the best path forward.
For example, when considering prostate cancer treatment options, we understand that the risk of urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction likely plays a major role in deciding which route to take. Those risks aren’t random, but are shaped by the details in your clinical results.
Your Gleason score, your prostate-specific antigen (PSA) trend and PSA levels, the size and location of a mass, and the grade and stage of a tumor: each of these changes the risk math, and the math is what should drive the decision.
The team reviewing your case matters as much as the plan
In urologic surgery, outcomes closely track with how often a surgical care team performs your specific operation. Volume and subspecialty focus aren’t marketing points; they’re part of the clinical picture. It’s perfectly reasonable to ask about a team’s expertise before choosing where to have surgery. Knowing you’re in the hands of an experienced team builds confidence and reassurance during what can be a difficult and unsettling journey.
Tower Urology is a group of 11 board-certified urologists and urology specialists, and we work as a team rather than as a collection of individual practices. We discuss complex cases, so the opinion you receive reflects the combined experience and judgment of surgeons who subspecialize in urologic oncology, robotic and minimally invasive surgery, reconstructive urology, men’s health, and women’s pelvic health.
Many of our doctors are recognized pioneers in robotic urologic surgery, performing thousands of robotic procedures and training other surgeons in the technique. You can read more about our urologists and their subspecialty training here.
We’re also closely affiliated with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, with access to advanced imaging, pathology, radiation oncology and radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and medical oncology, all under one coordinated plan.
What a second opinion at Tower Urology looks like
Seeking a second opinion is not a lengthy process and usually takes place over one visit. Before you attend your appointment, our team reviews your medical records, including pathology, imaging such as an MRI, and recent labs. During the consultation, our urologists walk you through what those results mean and lay out every reasonable treatment path, including the option of active monitoring. Finally, we advise you which one we recommend and explain why.
Online and phone telehealth consultations are also available if you’re unable to attend in person, for example, if you’re traveling, recovering, or outside Los Angeles. Our staff will help coordinate whatever we need from your current doctors, so you aren’t chasing paperwork during an already stressful time.
What happens next
If we agree with your original plan, we’ll tell you so. There’s no obligation to transfer your care to us, and you can return to your first doctor and proceed with confidence.
If we see a different or additional option worth considering, we’ll explain the trade-offs: what each approach asks of you, what recovery looks like, how each affects urinary and sexual function, and what the long-term outlook is.
Once again, you can return to your original doctor, but if you decide you’d like us to treat you, we’ll get you scheduled and coordinate the rest. Our priority is that you feel informed and confident as you move forward with your decision.
You don’t have to decide everything today
A new diagnosis can make every choice feel urgent. But for most localized prostate cancers and small kidney masses, taking a few weeks to gather information doesn’t change your outcome, and some low-risk prostate cancers are safely watched rather than treated at all.
However, a handful of situations do require you to move quickly, and if yours is one of them, we’ll tell you directly and help you move fast.
Either way, you deserve to know exactly where you stand before anyone schedules an operation.
Not sure where you fit? Find your diagnosis
Prostate
- Prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment
- UroNav fusion prostate biopsy
- Elevated PSA
- Robotic prostatectomy
- Benign prostatic hyperplasia and enlarged prostate
Kidney and urinary tract
Bladder, testis, and fertility
Get a second opinion from the top Los Angeles urologists who do this every day
Tower Urology, named Top Urologist by LA Magazine again in 2026, has cared for more than 40,000 patients across Southern California, and we welcome roughly 4,000 new patients every year. Many of them were in the same position as you are right now: newly diagnosed, holding a report they don’t fully understand, and trying to make a decision that deserves more than one perspective.
Call us at (855) 246-2700 or request your appointment online.
Tower Urology, 8635 W 3rd St, Suite 1W, Los Angeles, CA 90048.
