Has anyone been treated at Cancer Treatment Centers of America?

YoungTurkNYC

jessica749,

MSKCC is also a "for profit" cancer center.  It is not a not-for-profit organization such as some University associated cancer centers.  I live in NYC and was very fortunate to be able to go to MSKCC, Columbia and NYU.  When I was searching for a surgeon, and called MSKCC, the first thing they told me was: "call your insurance company first because I don't think we would take THAT type of insurance."  I knew I had excellent insurance, and I knew it would be taken, but it was an instant turn-off.  I ended up having my surgery at NYU. Then, the time came to pick an oncologist.  I went to all three organizations once again. When I was at MSKCC, I learned that they have a "fellowship" program.  I was examined by a "fellow," fresh out of med school.  I actually have a friend who is a doctor at MSKCC, and she told me they are very committed to their fellows, and this introduces a lot of inefficiency in their system.  Anyway, after I got examined by the fellow, she questioned me from a set list of questions.  Then she went to the oncologist to discuss my case without my presence.  Then, the "real" oncologist came in and she spent about 15 minutes with me, and despite my extremely aggressive pathology, which was quite clear to other oncologists who were recommending the most aggressive chemo, she tried to recommend the "chemo light" CMF regimen based solely on the fact that I had no node involvement.  She did not know that I had a multicentric tumor with a Ki-67 of 45% which indicates an extremely high proliferation rate tumor.  She did not know those things because they were not on the list of questions that the first year "fellow" asked.  My oncologist, at Columbia, in contrast, had read my pathology report herself cover to cover, examined me herself, and spent an hour and a half with me answering all my questions.  Sorry, but light and day.  MSKCC has an excellent reputation, and my experience is only a single experience, and I am not writing this to change that in any shape or form. But sometimes, names and reputations mean nothing, and there are some amazing oncologists wherever you go.  You just need to go get first, second and third opinions and decide what makes most sense for you.

YoungTurkNYC

Thank you kayb. Because it is private, I was always under the impression that it was for profit. I stand corrected.  I have deleted my prior comment in order to not mislead others.

jessica749

yes, please do not confuse "private" and not-for-profit vs profit. The latter is a tax law definition, and governs what happens to profits etc. To keep it simple, most top hospitals are private and not-for-profit. As are many top universities - private AND not-for-profit. I'm sure you can google more than you care to know about the delineations. !

Infobabe

kayb, that Reuters article says the woman in question had histiocytic sarcoma.  This cancer, while somewhat rare in humans, is found frequently in certain breeds of dogs.  In dogs it is 100% fatal, killing in  hours, days or weeks and completely untreatable.  They may try a few treatments in humans but I find it likely it is just as devastating in humans too.  That is probably why CTCA ignored this woman.  Not good for their percentages.

justachapter

Just stumbled upon this and I live in the PHX area, and like many if your insurance covers CTCA  and you received good care, that is all that matters to you, because you need to take care and focus on you. 

I would not step foot in a CTCA because I also don't like the for profit model (I just looked they take my insurance).  To me, when it comes to the bottom line, money, comes before my care at a "for profit".  Too many stories about them about how and why they are able to tout the outcome numbers they do.   I would go to the nearest NCI designated center, as they are also all comprehensive and multi-disciplinary.  I moved here 2 years ago, previously living in TX where MD Anderson is.  There is an MD Anderson here in AZ now as well and I've received wonderful care at this one.  Like most others they offer integrative Dr's and options to compliment your care.  It is a true multi-disciplinary approach, all my appointments are scheduled for me, everything under one roof, cases go before the board when needed,  this all helps when we are seeing so many Dr's that overlap.

What CTCA says is different about them, is no different than NCI and many others every single person with cancer especially breast cancer there are many factors.  So we all have different treatments, we don't fit into one box.

When it comes down to it, you as the patient need to feel comfortable and feel you are receiving the best treatment.

Infobabe

Momto, I agree.  It is hard to believe that CTCA is any better than U of Michigan or MD Anderson.  

I have a friend who had ovarian cancer, BRCA.  She was treated with surgery and chemo 25 years ago.  She had reoccurences 10 years and 20 years later, treated with chemo.  They discovered it all through the CA125 blood test though they could find only one spot on her lung.  All at U of M and she is still alive and age 72.   Amazing doctors there and I believe this can be said of many cancer centers throughout the US.

justachapter

Just to add to this, I was looking around the net last night and one thing that REALLY bothered me about CTCA is if you live out of state, they will fly you and one other person, put you up, pick you up, and pay for all your meals while you are having tests done for about $75 total.  They will also fly you to all your future appointments.  If you have confirmed insurance that they accept.

While this appears to be a nice gesture, it isn't, you or your insurance are paying for those tests and they are more expensive than most other hospitals/clinics. 

We should all go where we feel most comfortable, but many of the big NCI affiliated hospitals are academic  and cutting edge due to the academic nature, at a fraction of the cost.  

Anonymous

I went to CTCA (an outpatient clinic version in Washington State) after I was first diagnosed because I was drawn to the fact that they had actual Naturopathic Oncologists.  Which apparently is rare?  My first consultation visit was with the NO and a MO.  I was not impressed with the MO... I felt like I knew more about breast cancer treatment than he did.  I had to correct him several times.  I don't think they were used to seeing early stage patients.  I have a feeling their main clientele is later stage lured in by the "magic bullet" commercials?

The Naturopathic Oncologist was okay.  He helped set up a plan for a couple of supplements to take before and after surgery.  Nothing earth shattering.  I did recover amazingly well with no complications, so maybe it helped.  Who knows. Basically told me my best bet for avoiding recurrence was to eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise.  Again, nothing I didn't already know.

Since I was early stage and ended up not needing chemo, there was no need for me to consider going back there.  My insurance was accepted at the time.  But they didn't seem to offer anything different than a good hospital would.  They offer Vitamin C infusions and a couple other "non-traditional" things...but they don't have access to any exclusive magical treatments.