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Cancer of the cervix can be cured with hysterectomy or radiation. It goes away and does not come back. Is that not a cure?
Almost all children with the diagnosis my son had now have their leukemia go away and not come back. Is that not a cure?
There are many cancers that can be treated and not come back. I consider those to be cures.
To say that there is not a cure is incorrect. Typo on my part. My oncologist declared me cured two years ago.
There are some who make blanket statements about no cures for cancers, which it not correct. There are many different types of cancers and cancer cell.
I do not have personal experience with the independent cancer centers, but I have had cancer and been treated at Cleveland Clinic. The idea that a small cancer center would have some super secret inside scoop, that a major hospital would not have, is unlikely.
Perhaps if you are not near a major medical center, one of these places that treat cancer all day long MIGHT be a better option.
I have no experience with their treatment but I was unhappy with my first contact with them. When my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer I called CCA and the first question I was asked is if we had insurance or the ability to pay The bills. I said we have Medicare and they said sorry we can't help you and hung up the phone.
I think I may be going against the grain here, but two of my relatives have used the Cancer Center of America, and both of them rave about it compared to other places they went to.
I could type a book but will just give the very brief history:
Example 1: Brother was discovered to have stage 4 colon Cancer. His doctors in WV literally missed a couple of results on the tests making it worse. He was referred to the Univ. of VA center where he said he felt like he was on an assembly line, and they did what he called "cookie cutter" approaches to it that didn't seem to help reversing it but simply stopped the progression of it. He then tried the Cancer Center of America, and said they make him feel like he's a family member, and not "Patient # XXXX", and take the 1-on-1 time to answer questions. They did use many traditional treatments, but were also via a very good financial department able to talk his insurance company (after 3 attempts) to allow him to take a somewhat experimental drug which most other places would never have bothered to fight to get for him. As a result, his Cancer has been working toward remission and is "shrinking" steadily, and he's doing much much better than he did before he found the place.
Example 2: Brother-in-law was diagnosed with throat cancer. Local doctors wanted to bombard him ASAP with massive and heavy chemo, stick a feeding tube in him, and basically told him to expect to lose all of his teeth, hair, and "be ready to suffer". He went to the same Cancer Center of America location as my Brother for a second opinion. After evaluation, they said he did NOT need the uber-chemo the first hospital wanted him to start "right now before you can get another opinion". Instead they used a pinpoint radiation and lower dose chemo regimen on him which caused FAR fewer side effects than he would have had with facility # 1 ... he is now cured and Cancer free, or I suppose if we need to be clinically accurate here - he's "in total remission".
Clarifications: Yes, both of these family members have A+ health insurance policies. Also, while the Center does have a variety of holistic stuff (clinics on eating healthy/organic stuff, herb shop, etc), they do not emphasize it, but simply teach people how to incorporate these things into a healthier lifestyle if they choose, post-treatment. They also have massage and acupuncture, etc. Some people call these places hippie clinics - nothing of the sort - they DO use all very modern traditional treatments first, then add the holistic stuff to it. And on a side-note, here in Georgia they are opening one next year and the Governor here said that in order to get the permit to build, they had to agree to have 5% of their patients be "indigent", so while I expect that 5% slot to fill up quick, my guess would be Medicare and the uninsured will be able to at least use this one location due to that clause.
Sorry to go on, but while they do advertise, I don't really fault them for it as a lot of places do it now - even Atlanta's most well known and respected hospitals do it. Regarding the bit about how in their ads people say they were treated better at the Centers, well, at least in the two examples my family has, they ARE treated better at these places (more compassion, 1-on-1 time, etc) than they are at a lot of larger facilities. So I have no fault with a commercial (for once) telling the truth either. Just my opinion.
That they would do this (and I realize it has been a long time ago) is troubling.
I looked at their statistics on the CTCA web site to see if they were doing what they are supposed to with the statistics.
They do give some numbers, but they appear to be comparing apples and oranges. They are comparing to SEER data, which includes all comers. They really should be comparing to patients with commercial insurance only, if CTCA does not accept Medicare or indigent patients. They also do not break the statistics down by stage.
If you are going to compare results between CTCA and another institution, you need to know stage specific survival numbers. You should ask for them.
And I found numerous links to posts by other folks who do not like the TV ads.
By the way, they can still opt out of Medicare here in GA. Medicare patients are not "indigent".
By the way, they can still opt out of Medicare here in GA. Medicare patients are not "indigent".
Well, I wasn't sure. I'm not familiar with the inner workings of Medicare. I do know they do have to accept 5% indigent, so we'll see I guess how the Medicare thing works out for folks who try it once they open.
I used to work in an Oncology clinic, and then in Oncology research, so I have taken special notice of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America's advertising. I know there is now some sort of disclaimer that runs on the screen that states something to the effect that all cancers are different, and you should not expect these results.
My concern has been that patients with an untreatable cancer would have false hope after seeing CTCA's advertising.
One of our cases that I remember quite well was a young man, with a beautiful family, who had a rapidly growing terminal cancer. He was a healthy young man, and the cancer came on quite suddenly. It didn't respond to treatment and quickly spread.
His wife had us fax all his tests and records to CTCA, and the family made the trip there with very high expectations. Sadly, CTCA had nothing to offer him and their hopes were crushed.
While I am sure that CTCA offers the latest in clinical trials, so do many other local hospitals and clinics. Perhaps if you live in an area where you would have to travel for treatment anyway, you might consider CCTA.
While I am sure that CTCA offers the latest in clinical trials, so do many other local hospitals and clinics. Perhaps if you live in an area where you would have to travel for treatment anyway, you might consider CCTA.
I think for people in smaller areas, this may be the case. In the examples of my Brother and Brother-in-law, they are in cities in WV of 35,000 and 51,000 people, with no larger cities within a 3 1/2 hour drive. The medical facilities in both areas are to say the last, "laughable" at times in the way they treat people. In their cases, it was a simple matter to hop on an Amtrak train and poof, they're near a Cancer Center a few hours later and in their particular cases, it worked. Here in Atlanta, especially with the level of insurance they both have, I'm sure there would also be multiple good options as well.
I live in a town of 70,000 people and the nearest large towns are 6 to 8 hours away. We have an excellent cancer center. They don't hesitate to turf patients to Mayo or other centers. They also use their connections elsewhere to seek advise for treatments.
Well, I wasn't sure. I'm not familiar with the inner workings of Medicare. I do know they do have to accept 5% indigent, so we'll see I guess how the Medicare thing works out for folks who try it once they open.
It's not so much the workings of Medicare as it is the definition of "indigent." If you have any insurance --- commercial, Medicare, or Medicaid --- you are pretty much not going to qualify for any indigent programs.
"Medically Indigent is defined as an uninsured person who is not eligible for other health insurance coverage such as Medicare, Medicaid, or other private insurance. Those that are "medically indigent" make too much to qualify for Medicaid but not too little* to purchase health insurance or health care."
And they will try to get you onto any insurance plan you may be eligible for, usually Medicaid.
*I think they mean "too little" not "not too little".
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