Frequently Asked Questions

• What's your treatment philosophy?
• Tell me more about your experts and your treatment approach.
• Why would I leave the care of referred doctors and hospitals, possibly traveling hundreds of miles for cancer treatment?
• What will be my role in my cancer treatment?
• Why try new, perhaps unfamiliar, therapies?
• What's the environment like at your centers?

What's your treatment philosophy?

We don't just treat cancer-we treat the whole person. Recognizing this distinction affects everything we do. We provide patients with options that target their cancers as precisely as possible, strategically tailored to individual cancer type, stage and behavior. What's more, these options include ways to stimulate the body's immune system so that the body works with the medical treatment as opposed to merely tolerating it. We go beyond efforts directed specifically at malignancy with treatments that are all encompassing. A team of specialists collaborate on each individual's treatment plan, integrating established as well as breakthrough medical treatments and supportive therapies like nutritional counseling, botanical medicine, meditation and good old-fashioned spiritual support.

Tell me more about your experts and your treatment approach.

Our team of specialists includes medical, surgical, gynecologic, and radiation oncologists as well as nutritionists, oncology-certified nurses, internists, mental health specialists, clergy and more. We seek the input of naturopaths and offer one of the most comprehensive programs of nutritional and naturopathic medicine in the United States, And, if that suits your treatment philosophy, we will avail the expert services of chiropractors, massage therapists, acupuncturists and Chinese medicine practitioners as well. Our specially trained mind-body counselors bring compassion and understanding to the fears, anger, and hope of cancer patients and their loved ones. Your caregiver team will be intimately familiar with both you and your medical history. You and your family will be a part of our family-just one advantage of our limited size and treatment philosophy.

Why would I leave the care of referred doctors and hospitals, possibly traveling hundreds of miles for cancer treatment?

Cancer patients come to us from across the nation, many discouraged by their treatment elsewhere. For them, the decision to come to Cancer Treatment Centers of America is a refusal to be further victimized-either by the disease or by the treatment of it. Because many were not only victims of cancer-they were also victimized by a lack of information, a feeling of isolation, helplessness and an intense frustration with the process and the progress they were making against their disease. You'll immediately grasp that this is a different kind of treatment program.

It's not only our approach to treating cancer, it's the way we treat you that puts us in a class of our own. How many times have you had a blood test, X-ray or respiratory exam, and had to wait a week or more for the results? We'll get you most of your results in 48 hours-almost always sooner. How many times have you been awakened at 1:00 AM to be given a sleeping pill? Or a 6:00 AM blood draw? Our physicians, nurses and staff work within your schedule-not the other way around. In short, no one provides more care-and cares more-than we do. We have unflinching confidence that our difference is so dramatic that once you get to know us better, you'll wish you'd have come sooner.

What will be my role in my cancer treatment?

Patients attracted to Cancer Treatment Centers of America are incredibly knowledgeable about their cancer. Here, that knowledge is engaged in executing the battle plan. As a pioneer in patient-empowerment medicine, the active participation of patients and their caregivers and families in the treatment process is key. Together, through continuous dialogue, examination and evaluation, our treatment of patients merges with treatment by patients. As you make decisions about your treatment, you'll develop more confidence in its success. With that confidence comes reduced levels of stress and a reinforced immune system-the most powerful curative agent of all.

Why try new, perhaps unfamiliar, therapies?

Why not enlist every possible weapon in the war against cancer? While other programs rely on a narrow spectrum of isolated treatments, we constantly push the envelope to find the best combination of approved therapies for your particular cancer. In fact, many of the nation's other leading cancer facilities are just beginning to embrace the whole-person approach we've been perfecting for 25 years. Ironically, this does not mean higher doses of invasive treatments. In fact, lower doses of radiation and chemotherapy may cause fewer side effects when administered with advanced technology in patients whose immune systems are adequately supported.

What's the environment like at your centers?

In a word-different. Our comprehensive care is delivered in a welcoming environment of support and compassion designed to help you relax and stay focused on healing. Our cancer centers don't look-or feel-like a typical hospital. Architecturally, we seek to look, feel, and smell less like a hospital and more like a home away from home. Here, you'll discover a closeness of patients, staff and family that's simply not found in any other treatment center.