Preexisting conditions, costs and personal choice of medical treatment and its effect upon the family and their finances, particularly the treatment of those with breast cancer. They all come to a head in this episode. While the storyline re amygdalin (laetrile), which at first pass seems dated, the lengths a person choses to go to find a treatment for cancer, alternative or traditional, remains constant. Cyanide is a miguffin. At its heart is the threat of insurance companies denying coverage because of "preexisting conditions" and continues to this day, ACA notwithstanding for at least a couple of years. While this is Jack McCoy's first episode, this is really all about Claire and her investigation into how women patients are treated, their decisions, their options, their pain. More to the point is the irony of Anita Van Buren's ironic prognostication to Mike and Lenny: "There are two kinds of women in this world: those that have breast cancer and those that are scared to death of getting it. Articles you skip on the way to the sports page, I cut out and put them in a drawer next to my bed."
Review of Second Opinion
