Has anyone been treated at Cancer Treatment Centers of America?

mfoti610

I'm looking into options locally and while they aren't as close as MSK, I've heard a lot of great things about them.  I'm curious if anyone has any firsthand experience with them.

MelissaDallas

I find their commercials border on snake oil promises. They have been in trouble for it. They also do not care to treat you unless you have exceptionally good insurance.

MSK is world class & is certainly what I'd pick of the two.

Kat-ski

My personal experience with CTA.  I called Sept 2012 to inquire.  They took my information plus insurance and said they would call the next day.  This was a Sunday afternoon I called and on Monday eve. at 6, I was called and asked to do a survey about the initial call from an outside company.  I was madder than a wet-hen b/c CTA gave out my phone number.  About a half-hour later the lady from CTA called and I asked why my phone number was given out.  She said they don't do that.  I said then why did the survey company say they were calling about CTA initial call.  She was just as upset as I was and she said she would check into it.  She called back in an hour and just said CTA had just hired an outside company and my number was selected like it was pulled out of a hat.  I told her that violated my privacy and trust and told her I was not interested in CTA because of this.  She told me my insurance qualified and I told her more or less to go jump in a lake.  No way was I going there if violated HIPAA laws.  Never hear from them again.

Here is an article about CTA "cherry picking" patients to improve statistics.  

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/06/us-usa-cancer-ctca-idUSBRE9250L820130306

sarahjane7374

I heard they cherry pick their patients in order to improve their outcome stats.....

Wilsie2

I resent their infomercials that you can't escape from if you are a channel surfer like I am. Too good to be true.

Warrior_Woman

MSK is ranked 3rd in the country for breast cancer treatment.  

jessica749

ranked #3 according to whom? 

Cowgirl13

I've heard the same thing as Sarajane....they cherry-pick their patients to improve outcome stats.  I wouldn't touch them.  If your cancer turned out to be complicated, i wouldn't trust they had the experience to deal with a complicated case.

208sandy

Yeah, these guys don't pass the "smell test" understand they only take certain insurance too - not sure if it's because the insurance companies won't pay for some of the holistic treatments or what but something doesn't seem right about the whole thing.  They sure spend a ton of money on TV commercials in some markets though.

ruthbru

If your diagnosis is pretty clear cut, you are going to get the same treatment recommendations wherever you go. If you have something more complicated going on, or aren't comfortable with your treatment recommendations, then I would suggest you go to a place like Mayo or John Hopkins for a second opinion, not to a 'for profit' outfit that is spending a lot of money on 'suck-you-in' commercials.

mfoti610

I've heard similar things...that they only take the absolute best insurances and they also take cases they are reasonably sure they will be successful with to keep their outcome statistics high.  I think we are going to use MSK for my grandmother because she really liked the oncologist she met with and plus the location is ideal.

edwards750

What is MSK? Let me echo I have heard the same things about CTCA. My sister n law called them when my brother n law got cancer. That was years ago and then they wanted 25k as a deposit. I have heard those infomercials and kept waiting to hear them brag about some different treatment than has been offered but never did. They are all about the proverbial dollar. I would b interested in hearing the outcome of the cancer DX those patients had  n those commercials. 

Diane 

livin-in-sunshine

I've been at Cancer Treatment Centers of America and am TOTALLY happy. I guess I have great insurance. The thing that drew me towards them was the idea of really having a team of Dr.s to support me through the entire process. I originally was told by my insurance co, Cigna, that they did NOT accept CTCA. I was researching for a second opinion and called them and found them helpful from the beginning. The items that my insurance denied acupuncture, and probably a whole lot of other things, were written off by CTCA. 

I only have positive things to say about treatment at CTCA. They collected all my information and scheduled appts for Oncology, Radiaition, Surgery all at once. I was saved from having to coordinate all the appts. They also scheduled Wound Care with Radiation, ultrasound, echos, x-rays, a regular nutritionist, naturapath, massage, PT, and OT. On top of that, anytime I had a question or ran a fever, during treatment I was able to be checked out and admitted if needed. I was admitted twice for a few days.

They treat they're patients  with respect, and go the extra effort to make sure treatment is going smoothly.

I have NO vested interest in them, I just have been throughouly pleased.

exbrnxgrl

live in sunshine,

Glad you had a great experience with CTCA, as in the end, that's what counts.

Overall, very few on bco seem to have used them. Since I have no personal experience with them I can only speculate why, based on what I've read. BTW, my HMO, which maintains it's own hospitals, labs, pharmacy, docs etc. also offers totally coordinated care, weekly farmer's markets, yoga classes etc.  They are not a for profit facility, have interns/residents from Stanford University, participate and share research and clinical trials and are an insurance option offered by most employers in my area. No gigantic deposits or down payments needed, no cancer patients rejected because they don't fit a certain profile. One really has to ask why we don't see more folks flocking to CTCA.

mfoti610

Sunshine - happy to hear you had a great experience there.  They were extremely helpful and knowledgeable when I called (I actually found them through a 3rd party website which connected me directly to them).  As someone mentioned, I haven't heard many responses from people on this board that went to CTCA, but it's good to know that you were pleased with your treatment.  Always good to have options for my grandmother.  We are leaning towards MSK, but we may give CTCA another look just so we can be sure.  Thanks again

JoAnnaP

interesting to find this post.  I just called CTCOA the other day since it is in my back yard here in Phoenix.  Every other commercial on TV is about them, trying to lure us in.  I was told my insurance is not accepted and I should try and get on Cigna Insurance, a PPO.  I like my oncologist, but wanted the "whole" treatment of body soul and mind.  I realize it really is only for the rich.  Must be thankful for what I have and not get funny feelings about it all, but it's hard, ya know?!

exbrnxgrl

Jo Ann,

It's very much a for profit business. They cherry pick their patients and do not have a good reputation for sharing research and findings. Very, very few women on this forum have gone there even those who have the money. So, you really have to wonder. 

JoAnnaP

Yes, and I have a friend, a nurse, married to a doctor here, and they were quite negative on the place.  Before my mom died, she so wanted me to go there thinking it was the magic cure.  Oh well, guess I wanted to check them out but was thrown out before walking in the door.  Makes me sad that corporations are all about the $$$ rather than about really truly helping others.  Someday they will have to face God.

MelissaDallas

I'd much prefer to get my care at an NCI designated cancer center & find a foot massage somewhere else.

edwards750

Haha good one Melissa. I mean a foot massage? I love getting one but come on. 

Diane 

JoAnnaP

Thank you for sharing the article Kay.  Very enlightening.  Have no desire to go there now.

livin-in-sunshine

I feel bad for all the ladies that decide NOT to check out CTCA (if their insurance is accepted or have private pay) just because they read this thread. True they are a for profit org, but, there are other places that won't take my insurance, and that doesn't encourage me to have a lot of negativety towards those providers. And "for profit" is not always a bad thing. Non profits are not always the most efficient systems.

I'd encourage women to check out more than one opinion and see what works for her. It doesn't seem right to be so negative on an institution that provides excellent care and as someone else pointed out, often times the care there will be standard of care....so why complain about getting some of the "extra stuff" they provide? 

mfoti610

Interesting point livin-in-sunshine.  There's a CTCA location not terribly far from me (although MSK is much more convenient in terms of distance), but having spoken with people who have been treated there and were very happy with the treatment and support they received, I'm going to check it out for my grandmother before making a final decision.  I knew ahead of time that there are a lot of insurances they don't accept and I've also heard that they cherry-pick patients to keep their performance statistics high, but when dealing with cancer, I'm going to do my due diligence and make sure my grandmother gets the best care possible.  From my point of view, there's no harm checking them out, especially if they accept her insurance and are willing to take her on as a patient.

exbrnxgrl

live in sunshine,

Sorry if some posts offended you. CTCA is simply not available to many, in terms of insurance coverage and certainly quite out of reach for most if you have to pay privately. Additionally, cherry picking patients to boost success stats makes some of us feel uncomfortable. However, I have no doubt that one can receive good tx there. It's the business model and the advertising which makes many uncomfortable.

DivineMrsM

I think kayb makes a good point which is that the commercials make it seem like they do something "more", that they have some kind of "magical" formula that you wouldn't get at another facility.  While perhaps they go the extra mile to coordinate care and provide more holistic approaches in addition to standard medicine, would someone have really 'not made it' had they been treated elsewhere?  Next time one of their commercials comes on, I'm going to discuss it with dh.  I know he sees those and wonders, is my wife getting the best care in bc treatment?  Should she be going somewhere else to improve her odds of survival?  It's kind of reassuring to learn that average health care plans can be sufficient for many, even tho the perks like massages, accupucture, ect, sure sound nice.

DivineMrsM

deleted...oops, sorry! 

april485

Just wanted to chime in that I get treatment at a NCI designated Cancer Center (Yale) and they offer all of the holistic things that CTCA offer. I can get massages, accupunture, nutritionists and any and all manner of things (no foot massages that I am aware of though) and they don't cherry pick for stats and take all insurances. If you can go to MSK, why in the world would you go elsewhere? Memorial Sloane-Kettering is one of the TOP 5 in the entire country in terms of NCI designated Cancer Hospitals. With care like that, I would not venture to a place that gets very bad marks from so many folks and has been cited for only taking cases that will enhance their stats. Best to you in whatever you decide to go.

Edited to add that I also have a "team" which includes all manner of both holistic and oncology experts.

jessica749

I for one am against for-profit hospitals. I just am. Call me biased. By the same token, I am against for-profit schools.    Just because the school has a "good" reputation or if the hospital has a "good" reputation, I just would not be comfortable at either. For profit is a great thing in many respects, but I don't want it figuring into the equation when people are making health choices/judgments for me.  I think it's valid for people in today's world to wonder to what extent costs already figure into care and treatment decisions. I certainly wouldn't want to feel that the $$ was ruling even more, as it would  comparing to a for-profit.

jessica749

PS--MSKCC has a "team" of doctors also work with you.  And another wonderful thing there is that they too make all your appt for you. And they have a whole integrative medicine department, I could go on and on but I don't work for them and I don't need to toot their horn. I would just be wary of CCA commercials. They are just that: commercials.  They don't mean that much beyond advertising/PR.

tbjames

I live in the Phoenix area and was treated at CTCA for DCIS which eventually led to a mastectomy.  I loved the staff there and felt like the treatment was excellent.

Warrior_Woman

US News and World Report publishes the list of hospital rankings by specialty each year.  Here is the 2014 list for cancer treatment:  Hospital Rankings I read the full article in hard copy but I cannot find it in the electronic version.  The full article breaks down cancer specialties and ranks hospitals for breast cancer treatment.  They include many variables in making the calculations and among them, from what I recall, are patient outcomes (extremely important) and patient satisfaction.  Other items went into the mix too.  If I find the breast cancer rankings online I will post it.