If my aunt has cancer, should she visit the nearest Cancer Treatment Centers of America for help?
My aunt has a moderately advanced stage of cancer in the stomach. She is so skinny now and her face has actually lost its color--from light brown to dull and pale green color. She went from a healthy 150 lbs to slightly above 110. My aunt's appearance couldn't be any worse, despite her always wearing a big smile of optimism. I really fear she will lose her life and leave her two daughters, who are twins, alone. She is divorced and as such, don't think she has anyone who will protect and take care of them, should she pass away. I heard about Cancer Treatment Centers of America on the TV and thought it could be the best place for her to treat her cancer. Unfortunately, cancer runs in her family so it isn't a first time thing in the family. My aunt lives in Dallas, Texas, like me, but the nearest CTCA (Cancer Treatment Centers of America) is like Tulsa, Oklahoma. Should we go long distance in order to seek the best help? Are there are centers that provide just as good aid and specializes in cancer? Please help me! I need help and I don't want to see a family member die because of cancer.
Cancer - 5 Answers
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1 :
I suggest going there. Isn't better to get the best help and have a healthy living aunt, rather than going to a mediocre center, having surgery/treatment, and finding out it didn't work/help at all?
2 :
I am admittedly biased here, but you asked so I will give my $.02..... CTCA brings nothing, absolutely nothing, new to the treatment table. You can do much better at MD Anderson in Houston..... Blessings
3 :
Boy do I agree with "zrepmd" here. By all means look into MD Anderson - one of the world's best cancer centers. And they are much closer. Her present oncologist could make the referral - at the patient's request. - - - Advertising for CTCA on TV is a bad sign to begin with. They must be focusing on patients with private insurance where they can make large profits. I would be surprised if they ever accept medicaid or uninsured patients. Someone please correct me here if I am wrong. It would be interesting to know how they screen out people who cannot pay. They do not have anything different from any other board certified U.S. oncologist. I could access investigational medications from the NCI (National Cancer Institute) in my community group practice, and I belonged to a university group of investigators with access to the latest treatment trials. I suspect zrepmd is similarly tied in with investigational agents for patients who are refractory to standard treatment approaches. To spend the money they do on TV advertising, CTCA must be focused on profit. If you have plenty of money and want Cadillac treatment, maybe that is the place to go. I suspect they want only the high end wealthy patients. I have said on this site many times - medicine should not be a business. Dollars should not figure into treatment decisions - but they certainly do in the U.S. today. In fairness, cost also figures into treatment approaches in socialized medicine countries such as Canada and the U.K. I guess the difference is that Cadillac treatment is still available to the very wealthy in the USA. In cases of advanced gastric carcinoma, it probably doesn't matter how much money a person has, the outcome is likely to be the same.
4 :
I wouldn't consider Cancer Treatment Centers of America for treatment. I agree with the above 2 posters on CTCA. I despise their commercials as they act as though they can work miracles for cancer patients, but if you will notice their small print across the screen it says "results are not typical. do not expect to get these results." My brother had cancer and was treated at a local cancer research hospital and they treated him great. They were definitely in the business of trying to save his life regardless of his ability to pay. Unfortunately, his cancer was advanced and didn't respond to treatment and he died, but he got great care 'til the end.
5 :
My mom went to CTCA. We did it as a last-ditch effort. It does nothing miraculous, other than they did address nutritional/spiritual needs. I would take your aunt to Johns Hopkins, MD ANderson, Sloan-Kettering, University of Chicago, or City of Hope first. You can easily find out who specializes in digestive cancers.
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Title : If my aunt has cancer, should she visit the nearest Cancer Treatment Centers of America for help
Description : If my aunt has cancer, should she visit the nearest Cancer Treatment Centers of America for help? My aunt has a moderately advanced stage...