You should never pick a center based on geography. People here have traveled out of state to get to the best of the best. You have one chance to beat this, and there aren't any mulligans�.

Some people are limited by insurance, money, and more. They get what they can, and having said that, while it is not always optimum, we get lots of calls every week at OCF from people with no health insurance and nowhere to go at all.

I didn't like my team at first, they didn't like me at the end since I was the patient with too many questions from hell. But I got to see the best of the best and that was all that mattered to me as a stage four patient. I'm here today because of them.

It isn't just about the best equipment, (40% of cancer centers in the US do not even own an IMRT capable machine, let alone someone that is up to speed on how to use it) the latest information, but they have not just read about the complications you are going to have (and everyone has them), or treated them a few times - they see those bumps in the road, things that go bump in the night EVERY DAY.

When the world is turning to crap and treatments are not working, they are the institutions that have access to the clinical trial drugs and protocols when everything else has failed. They have teams of people not just a few, all paid the highest salaries, recruited from around the country, and the competition to be picked up at at big institution is hot.

Convienience and nice personalities are great, after I am cancer free. In the meantime, I can live with a doctor who is not socially skilled, I can't live with one who isn't the sharpest pencil in the cup. JMHO.

Having said all that I AM NOT SAYING THAT THERE ARE NOT GREAT DOCTORS AT LOTS OF SMALL INSTITUTIONS IN THE US.

Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.