Importance of second or more opinions

Last year a cyst was detected in my left ovary. It was over 4 centimeters. After it was confirmed that it was an endometrioma and I was subsequently diagnosed with endometriosis, my doctor wanted to operate me right away. She told me that, even if it had not grown between the first echography (the one that detected it) and the second (the one that confirmed it), it wasn’t going to go away, so they had to remove it.
I went to ask for a second opinion, because I wasn’t going to let anyone open me up without being sure it was really necessary. The second doctor I saw wanted me to try medication before making a decision. So I took the medicine he prescribed and after a while I went for another echography. The cyst was smaller. It was half the original size. I’m currently maintaining the prescribed treatment.
I’m aware that every situation is different. But I’m also aware that I was told the cyst wasn’t going to go away and it’s now much smaller. If I hadn’t seen another doctor, I could probably have part of my left ovary cut out by now.