Cancer Treatment Centers of America

HeatherBLocklear

Cancer Treatment Centers of America

HeatherBLocklear

Hi all,

Does anyone here have any experience with the group named in the subject line? Sometimes when I get very pessimistic and down, I wonder if they wouldn't be a good option. I know they take a holistic approach, combining the latest in western medicine with diet, meditation, and spirituality. In other words, according to their literature, they take care of the whole patient, not just the patient's cancer. They also have support groups for family members.

Any thoughts?

I hope this post doesn't get walled off and then discarded. I asked for advice on what to ask my radiologist next Wednesday; for some reason the posting was isolated and then deleted. I hope it didn't somehow offend a board censor or someone -- don't really see how it could have been offensive to anyone.

Thanks again for any help /advice/feedback anyone cares to give.

Love,

Annie Boob (Betty Boop's BC sister).

FLtricia

A few months ago there was a topic on this subject.  Overall I believe the reviews were negative.  A few had made calls in inquiry, and if their insurance wouldn't cover treatment they felt their calls were rudely terminated.

I believe a couple had actually gone for treatment, and while they liked the holistic treatment portion, they felt overall the experience was average.

Maybe you could try the search feature at the top of the page and bring this up to read.

I hope you find what you need, good luck.

HeatherBLocklear

Hi and thanks,

I cannot find that thread. It seems the site search engine has been modified to only pull up official press releases et al., not posts by individual members. Can anyone help?

Annie

AnnNYC

Hi Annie,

Here's a link to earlier comments about CTCA:

http://community.breastcancer.org/topic/8/conversation/695502?page=1#comment_892196

Edit to add: there are now TWO search boxes, each labeled simply "Search"!!!  Apparently the one at the very top right of the page (in the "old-gold" colored rectangle) searches the "official" pages.

But under "You are logged in as ...." there is another "Search", a pink one, (between "Log Out" and "Active Conversations") -- this searches the discussion boards.  Although I think the database for such searches is still not totally "re-built",  I did manage to find the CTCA thread.

Also -- I'm sure the loss of your question in the "Radiation" forum was completely an unfortunate technical glitch.  I think this happened to a few other conversations.

Dx 3/9/2007, IDC, <1cm, Stage I, Grade 2, 0/5 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2-

otter

Hi, Annie.  Good question. 

AnnNYC, thanks for providing the link to that previous BCO discussion thread.  I've been curious about CTCA because of their commercials, but not curious enough to make a phone call.  I guess I'm just too traditional in my approach to medicine.  For me, medicine is mostly good science and high-quality patient care.  Fortunately, I think those things can be found at most large cancer centers, especially the NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers (http://cancercenters.cancer.gov/cancer_centers/index.html).

Annie, I'm sure you've read the older BCO thread by now.  The dominant issue seems to be finances.  That's not surprising, considering that CTCA is a private, for-profit company, rather than a public, non-profit like many of our regional and university hospitals.  Everything CTCA does--from the airfares to the housing subsidies to the acupuncture to the 24-hour-a-day, 7 day-a-week infusion center, has to be supported by insurance or private payment.

I guess what troubles me is the way CTCA boasts about the quality of their care, as if it is so much better than everyone else's.  If you check out their website, they brag about their imaging capabilities, which are really not superior to what you would find at an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center.  CTCA boasts that they use SNB, as if that's something new and possibly unique--yet, we here at the BCO boards know it's the standard of care for early-stage BC and should be offered at any reputable treatment center.  CTCA says they use "biotherapy/immunotherapy", including hematopoietic growth factors.  That's just Neulasta and Procrit--again, the standard of care nationwide (possibly worldwide).  CTCA brags that their infusion centers are "Focused on Safety," and they list these things as evidence (http://www.cancercenter.com/southwestern-hospital/medical-services/infusion-center.cfm):

"Administration of chemotherapy requires a multitude of safety checks. Here are just some of the checks we make:

• Verify the availability and completeness of chemotherapy orders.
• Verify that the patient's laboratory values are within acceptable ranges to receive chemotherapy.
• Recalculate the patient’s body surface area for an accurate height and weight calculation for dosing.
• Ensure that the patient has received education on chemotherapy and that he or she consents to the therapy."

OMG, if they didn't do each of those things, they would be shut down.  Those are requirements of good medical practice at any infusion center.

CTCA also says they assign a patient-centered care team.  That's exactly what was done immediately after my biopsy at the university cancer center where I'm being treated.  I was introduced to "my" surgical oncologist, radiation oncologist, and medical oncologist, the day after my biopsy results came back.  They met with me individually and then as a team; and they continued to meet among themselves on a weekly basis to discuss my continuing care.  Every step along the way, each person with whom I had contact--from the nurses to the oncologists to the telephone receptionists to the parking attendants--impressed me with their "patient-centered" approach and caring attitude.

Another asset my center had that is probably quite common is two nurses who were specifically assigned as "triage" or "liaison" nurses to field patient's phone calls.  If I had any questions at all about my care, I could call them and they would pursue the answers or rattle the necessary cages.  In addition to those nurses, there was a hospital ombudsman who was just as skilled and motivated to provide quality patient care.

I guess the bottom line is that most of what CTCA offers is the type of care we would receive at any high-ranking, publicly funded cancer center that cared about its reputation.  Health care is big business in the U.S., and hospitals are competing for patients and their insurance money.  There is no payoff for shoddy care or lack of compassion.

The biggest difference between public care and the CTCA is the "complementary therapies" offered by CTCA. Some of those therapies are very important and should be more prominent in any approach to cancer treatment--for example, nutritional counseling, pain management, and orthopedic/physical rehabilitation.

Some of what CTCA offers as "complementary" can be found through auxilliary services affilited with public cancer centers--for instance, "image enhancement" (ACS Look Good-Feel Better classes) and "spiritual support" (hey, I'm in the Deep South--no shortage of that support here).  OTOH, under "Clinical Trials/Research" underway at CTCA, you'll see this listed:  "Prayer as a Possible Adjuvant Treatment for Breast Cancer. A Partially Blind Conrolled Study Evaluating the Effect of Prayer on Humoral and Biochemical Parameters in Stage I-IV Breast Cancer."  I doubt you'd find that at most publicly funded cancer centers.

It's good to learn about all our options.  I'm sure there is something to be said for treating the whole patient, and not just "the BC in Room 249."  I worry, though, that organizations like CTCA are preying on people when they are most vulnerable; and they are doing it to make a profit. But, then, I'm sometimes too suspicious.

otter 

NancyD

Otter, that's very interesting and I agree with you 100%. I'm in the NYC area and can get to several major medical centers in an hour or less, but I CHOSE to go to my local cancer center for my treatment thinking if I needed to consult anyone about my case, I have some of the best minds in the business only a few more miles away. But as far as getting my treatment was concerned, I wanted to stay as close to home as possible.

And you know what?  My drs all have contacts and former associates in those centers, so I feel confident that information is shared and I'm not lacking for appropriate treatment.

Is my treatment room spa-quality?  Nah, but it sure is friendly. And I know I will be back in my own home just a few minutes after the treatment is finished. I almost wish my tx was going to last a little longer, though, as my oncologists are moving to brand new quarters in the Fall. Sad to say, but they've outgrown their present offices which are only a few years old. Yes, health care is big business, but the growing number of cancer patients is feeding the system.

HeatherBLocklear

Hi all,

Thanks to those who responded; in particular to those who took the time and trouble to research the facility named and compare it to others.

I did call them and also got the impression they're insurance-driven. I guess I've just started to be so scared that I'm looking for different options.

Next chemo on Tuesday. In the meantime, I've managed to get an infection in my lower jawbone. Taking Amoxicillin, but so far it doesn't seem to be doing much good. Maybe I'm too impatient, but my brother said I should see improvement within 24 hours. Not yet.

Love to all,

Annie

TenderIsOurMight

When it comes down to it Annie, I think it has to do with how you feel about your oncologist, and her/his interest in you personally, your beneficence: has he or she shown she's taken it on, and how they demonstrate their wisdom and art of oncology. An advantage of being on this board, imo, is you often hear of frontline treatments and tests, and so get to see if one's own doctor(s) know about them, and if not, how they react to news: with open or close-mindedness, etc...



Your life has been spent so intercontinentally, I can surely see a need for a whole person approach. While some comprehensive cancer centers have integrated CAM (acupuncture, herbs), nutrition, primary health care intertwined with oncology, and team approach integration, they are not the norm as yet. Which leaves the bulk of us hanging, but particularly a person such as yourself who has seen how other cultures integrate personal healing and so craves synthesis of the human not division, as is so lamentably common in American medicine.



Perhaps your own oncology center may be able to point you in the direction of a wellness center; they surely must be around in Texas.



As to the fear driving the look about, well, it always does. Yet try to stay the course of the AC for at least a few to see its effect, with imaging and have a followup with your breast surgeon too. A carefully worked through plan between the two of them may help allay some of your fear if good response is noted, and if it is not, then a quick trip to MD Anderson or the like for second opinion should not be hard to achieve through your doctors.



I'm sending the sense of lavender tonight, wishing you calm.

Tender

HeatherBLocklear

Dear Tender, dear all,

Thanks for your input. Sorry not to have responded more rapidly to your messages, but I've spent a week with my mother, taking a break from BC. Or at least trying to do so.

I guess the attractiveness of the holistic approach also lies in my wondering if my lifestyle choices brought BC into my life. I think we all wonder that, at one point or another during this long voyage. I have a tendency to negative thought; maybe if I can be taught to be more optimistic, I'd react more strongly to treatment. Who knows.

For right now I'm switching my insurance provider to that I can go out of network if need be. I can also see specialists without a referral from my PCP, which will save me both time and money in the long run. As far as CTCA is concerned, we'll see after AC is over. You're right, Tender, no use in jumping the gun.

Love to all,

Annie