It is always a sad day when we lose someone that we have come to know and care about.

Not knowing the medical specifics about this situation this comment may or may not apply. There is a wide quality bell curve of treatment facilities and individual practioners knowledge and skills. There is also a fair amount of peer reviewed published work on the impact of the choices made in treatment institutions looking at small regional hospitals vs larger teaching university hospitals and NCI designation comprehensive cancer centers. The better funded and staffed institutions have better long term outcomes for a variety of reasons. When talking to patients I understand the insurance coverage and choices they force upon us, as well as the financial constraints of any person or family. But I alway urge people not to let geography dictate their treatment choices, nor convenience. For the most part we get one chance to deal with our disease. It is imperative that patients make an informed choice when deciding on where their treatment take place, and not let the continence of a facility dictate that choice.

In the resources section of the OCF website, there is a link that says best hospitals. It takes people to an unbiased listing and rating of cancer hospitals in the US, done by US News every year. They have a very thorough means of rating the hospitals based on everything from end results, to modernness of equipment, education of clinical staff and much more. You can sort by rating, or by zip code. Understanding that not everyone can leave their insurance service area, it allows them to search locally, and for those that can afford to travel, nationally.

We do not get to make a lot of choices about our treatments. But choosing our team is the one thing that has significant impact that we can do.