Community Chat

[suzyQ3]

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@DebPA3 wrote:

I’ll add my two cents as someone with personal experience with Cancer Treatment Centers of America. First the positive: they do good work, comparable to other major not-for-profit hospitals treating cancer. So from a medical treatment standpoint, they are solid. Their campuses are beautiful, and there are lots of administrative resources to help with things like scheduling, etc, and all services are “under one roof”. 

From a medical outcome perspective? Don’t be deceived. They pick and choose their patients, yes, based on insurance and ability to pay, AND, likely outcome. They don’t have to take lost causes, or people with minimal insurance who may have not cared for themselves to-date, etc. So, it’s not apples to apples if you see survival statistics, etc. 

They are aggressive spending your (and your insurance’s) money. We took our daughter there, fighting Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, for a second opinion, desperate for an innovative solution, as our daughter was failing. Her care was then being coordinated through a major university hospital. She had outstanding insurance. CTCA billed her insurance $33,000 for four days of new scans, evaluations, and a few doctor meetings; to be told, “we wouldn’t have done anything different”. We did not pursue any treatment there for a variety of reasons I won’t go into. 

Another family member was treated very very poorly when they checked his insurance and it was found “wanting”. 

So, not a scam, but not the nirvana the commercials make you believe.

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@DebPA3, what an ariculate and detailed review.

[suzyQ3]

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@on the bay wrote:

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@suzyQ3 wrote:

I got so sick of the commercials that I did a little research and found very negative results about the company. One was that the numbers they tout are more from their not accepting the most difficult cases.

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@suzyQ3-

I did the same as you because I thought they sounded so hopeful!

And maybe they are, if you have the right insurance and the money, and a possibility to survive. Somehow this is just wrong.

I think any beneficial treatment should be available to everyone. Yes, everyone.

Other countries can do it. I wish we would too.

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@on the bay, don't even get me started. The inequality that is built into our for-profit healthcare system is uncivilized and inhumane.

Can you even imagine when I DO get started? :-)

[on the bay]

@suzyQ3-

So weird!

I was just thinking "DON't get me started!" (on prescription drugs and those commercials!) before I even read your post.

Yes, we'd best not even start! 

[viva923]

when people need help for the cancer sometimes they reach an end and don't know where else to go. 

My husband worked with a man who had some kind of intestional cancer, he had surgery done in Maryland they said it is such a slow grow cancer there is nothing more they can do. He went to the cancer treatment center in PA and the treatments perscribed was radiation on what area needed to be treated, the radiation was done several times only problem was, it was radiating the wrong area and he passed away from another illness caused by the wrong radiated area.

when you get desperate you will try, believe, do anything for a cure.

my dad had a brain tumor, he had surgery, they sent him to pass, he fooled them all, he lived for 16 yrs before brain cancer took his life. My mom also passed from brain cancer, she refused surgery, she saw what my dad went thru (many side effects of the brain surgery) she said just let me go quietly, she lived about 6-8months.

[millieshops]

@Ibby114I'm sure the mind and the body do best when they're in sync.  My friend needed those around him desperately when his Sloan doc more or less signed his death certificate -  that circle of family and friends worked on his mindset and helped him get to the CCA -  once his doctors there gave him a shred of hope, of possibility of some years, his own mental and physical strength grew.  That's so important.

I feel quite fortunate to have lived into my mid-late 70's now with relatively few problems.  At this stage in my life I try to live each day remembering the words of the vascular surgeon I see who insists that while genes pay some part in our health, we are in control of most of it -  it's what we put into our bodies , he says, and how we use our bodies that really determines more.  We won't always be lucky, but if we're not aware of our own responsibilities, we're even less likely to thrive.  That's my mindset now.

[Financialgrl]

My experience was not with Cancer Centers of America -CCA but with a former CCA doctor.  Saw a respected oncologist in N VA and when he retired the new guy continued on with my same care - seamless transition and I liked the new doc who stayed for 3 years. 

He was replaced by an oncologist from CCA - just moved to the area.  She wanted to totally revise my care and begin scans every 6 months.  I allowed the first one cuz it'd been awhile since I'd last had one. 

Had a CT scan with contrast and told by her that she'd call with the results in two days.  Multiple messages and 9 days had passed with no return call I picked up a copy of my scan results. Very angry it showed that my results had been available the day after it'd been taken.  I'd called 9 times  - with no response so I left the practice. 

Apparently that's what CCA does - test the heck out of ppl.  Six months after arriving this doctor was gone.  Suspect the practice was not happy with her changing it's treatment philosophy for her patients, not to mention, in my caseI know for a fact, even with good insurance it would not pay for constant testing so I'd have to force her to come up with a different plan anyway - but the non-responsiveness had totally turned me away.

[KentuckyWoman]

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@PhilaLady1 wrote:

I hate those commercials.  Giving false hope to the most desparate.  Should be illegal, IMO.

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I detest those commericals and I agree with you 100%.  False hope.

[Anniedog]

My husband had a wonderful experience with Cca. We looked at several options when he was diagnosed and the reason we chose them was their use naturopathic medicine along with traditional medicine. I can only tell you his experience but he was diagnosed in 2010 and thankfully is doing well today. We prayed for God’s guidance and CCA was a  truly a blessing to us.

[Evie2004]

@Mz iMac Cancer Centers of America do not accept Medicare insurance coverage, not sure about Medicaid, but pretty sure not.

[suzyQ3]

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@millieshops wrote:

@Ibby114I'm sure the mind and the body do best when they're in sync.  My friend needed those around him desperately when his Sloan doc more or less signed his death certificate -  that circle of family and friends worked on his mindset and helped him get to the CCA -  once his doctors there gave him a shred of hope, of possibility of some years, his own mental and physical strength grew.  That's so important.

I feel quite fortunate to have lived into my mid-late 70's now with relatively few problems.  At this stage in my life I try to live each day remembering the words of the vascular surgeon I see who insists that while genes pay some part in our health, we are in control of most of it -  it's what we put into our bodies , he says, and how we use our bodies that really determines more.  We won't always be lucky, but if we're not aware of our own responsibilities, we're even less likely to thrive.  That's my mindset now.

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@millieshops, I understand your mindset and am glad that it benefits you.

While I agree that outlook is important if, for nothing else, the enjoyment of what days may be left for a very ill person, I don't ascribe responsibility for one's health or one's dying.

Of course we all know that certain habits pose a risk. I'm not talking about that. I'm just not about to take the onus off the seemingly infinite cause sof death and put it on us humans.

I had a dear friend who believed that people bring on their own fate. I remember when he was a passenger in my car and discussing this. He actually told me that he thought that victims horrific events somehow were culpable because of their mindset. It made me furious.

That's a tangent that doesn't bear on your thoughts. But it is an extreme form of it.