Cancer Treatment Centers of America - Not All It Claims To Be

pupmom

 snip - CTCA reports on its website that the percentage of its patients who are alive after six months, a year, 18 months and longer regularly tops national figures. For instance, 60 percent of its non-small-cell lung cancer patients are alive at six months, CTCA says, compared to 38 percent nationally. And 64 percent of its prostate cancer patients are alive at three years, versus 38 percent nationally.

Such claims are misleading, according to nine experts in cancer and medical statistics whom Reuters asked to review CTCA's survival numbers and its statistical methodology.

The experts were unanimous that CTCA's patients are different from the patients the company compares them to, in a way that skews their survival data. It has relatively few elderly patients, even though cancer is a disease of the aged. It has almost none who are uninsured or covered by Medicaid - patients who tend to die sooner if they develop cancer and who are comparatively numerous in national statistics. - snip

http://news.yahoo.com/special-report-behind-cancer-treatment-firms-rosy-survival-125342638.html

1Athena1

Interesting. I have always found their advertising fishy (besides the fact that I want to puke at how heavily a cancer center tries to make money over a disease with no cure  --"complex or advanced stage cancer"). Good for Reuters.

pupmom

I've always wondered about them also. It just seems creepy to advertise for cancer patients.

gillyone

And on NPR too!

Anonymous

I had heard 'No insurance - need not apply' to CTCA. 

MelissaDallas

They got fined over their snake-oil commercials & had to dial them back.

pupmom

I'm not sure I see any difference.

tbjames

Well, I just have to jump in and say that I am one of their patients and I have had a wonderful experience with my treatment team.  I truly believe they care about me and have my best interest at heart.  I was born with spina bifida and use a wheelchair so I've had lots of experiences with the medical community.  CTCA has by far, been the best so far. 

vlnrph

I'm sure there are people who get good care at those centers. The emphasis on individual cases in their advertising is distressing:   not everyone will have a stellar outcome due to the nature of the disease.

Patients who have the ability to travel for treatment are probably younger, diagnosed at an earlier stage and more educated (able to search out various options). These factors alone would skew survival statistics!

A little healthy competition is not bad. The multi-disciplinary team approach is an excellent model. However, I am disturbed by how much they are spending on promoting themselves, funds that could be applied to research...  

exbrnxgrl

I have no personal experience with CTCA but it seems to me that if you meet their criteria and have the money or very good insurance, then you will get good care. Picking ones patients will certainly skew results. Kind of like public schools, which must take all students vs. private schools, which can reject certain students or ask those who don't meet their performance criteria to leave ( I speak only for schools in my little bit of northern CA).

Katski

CTCA and I have crossed paths.  As I was looking for the best treatment, I saw a commercial on TV and called them.  They do pre-qualify you.  I knew that by the center taking more than a day to get back to me, that they were checking my insurance.  It took them more than 24 hours to call me back although they said by noon the next day.  At about 6 p.m., I received a call from a survey service and wanted to know how my experience was with the intake person.  So, CTCA, had already violated HIPPA laws by giving out my phone number.  I was livid.  I called the number of the lady that was suppose to call me and I asked how did this service get my number.  An hour later, she called and said they don't give phone numbers out due to HIPPA.  She said she would look into it and I am thinking this is not good.  She called back and said they hired an agency to see how the company was doing and my number was selected.  I told her CTCA violated my privacy rights and I was did not give them permission to use my number for their survey.  In the end, since I was covered by my insurance, etc.....they would fly us out to Chicago. Where did I have my treatments, I stayed put and decided we didn't need the extra expense of hotel stays and traveling back and forth.  Did I make the right decision, well, yes I did.  I didn't have to be away from home at night and probably would have received the same treatment plan CTCA did.  In my opinion, yes CTCA does "cherry pick" and how sad for those perspective patients they "entertain" on the first trip, then decide well, we do not want to mess up our stats so our treatments don't fit you.  How can they give someone hope and just dismiss them is beyond my understanding.  It just wants to make money and have good stats.  Please, forgive me if my thoughts are out of order.  But they made me very mad in the beginning. (I did read the article.) 

Mardibra

Another view on CTCA.  Certainly not appreciated by the medical community.

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2013/03/07/the-cancer-treatment-centers-of-america-cherry-picked/