I'm wondering if anybody has experience with Cancer Treatment Centers of America? I asked my doctor about them and he was quite dismissive of them. But I'm also finding he's dismissive of anything outside of the traditional modern approach. He dismisses anything about nutrition, or mind/body healing, or just about anything outside 'standard' medicine. This holistic approach is what is appealing to me about CTCA so I'm wondering if anybody has experience or factual knowledge about them. If we can't post opinions about specific institutions then please just shoot me a private message. thanks....

I just did a quick Google on them and don't get warm fuzzies, especially the part about the FTC complaint about overstating their treatment success rates.

http://www.quackwatch.org/02ConsumerProtection/FTCActions/ctca.html

But then, I am inclined against trusting non-traditional approaches to something as complex and full of unknowns as cancer is, especially phrases like "whole body approach", "empowerment", etc. I get the same feeling here as I do walking into a used car lot, that someone is trying very hard to sell something to me. That's my personal opinion here.

Their web site looks more like a sales pitch than a legitimate treatment facility

http://www.cancercenter.com/

My mother had lung cancer and was expected to die in a matter of weeks -- Had she gone to a CTCA or a Mexican clinic, she would have been a success story because she lived another year and a half, fully 900% longer than expected!

That said, however, it's clear from reading that they do pay special attention to making the patient feel better as part of the treatment and that's quite important to some folks, esp ones who may not trust mainstream traditional medicine.

Presuming their costs are in line, insurance will cover them as well as any CCC and the traditional methods are also being used, they may have some value, but I remain skeptical -- The hoo-rah I just read about them having problems getting into the Atlanta market also raises my skepticism because new hospitals seem to open all the time and don't seem to need to have emotional supporters to do so -- Are they creating a fuss just to get supporters?

Personally, I won't be traveling to Tulsa to get my treatments -- If I desired out of town treatments for my HN cancer, I would be headed for MDAnderson, top-rated by the NCI.

Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer choice!

Here are two conflicting views posted to http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,9651,0.htm

" My dad goes there in Tulsa. They are great. My dad had stage 4 pacreatic cancer and now he no longer has pacreatic cancer, but he still has 2 spots on his liver that they are working. I recommend them over anybody else. They don't just treat the cancer they treat your whole body. They also have state of the art equipment. I hope the the best for you."

"I do not have any personal experience with the Cancer Treatment Centers of America but I do know that the FTC went after them in 1995 for false and misleading advertising. The Centers alledgedly made unsubstantiated claims concerning their treaments and their success rates compared to other treatment facilities. With such a serious decision as to which facility I should go to treat my particular cancer, I would want a facility with the latest treatment for my paticular type of cancer.

Look at the National Cancer Institute website for the particular cancer and see what studies are being done and at what facilities in this country or elsewhere treat my type of cancer. Also, there is a recent National Cancer Institue reseach study that showed no difference in eating fruits and vegetables or not for improving your cancer.

I know the Mayo Clinic has a deserved worldwide reputation for their research and treatment of cancer. With that said, I would not blindly go to Mayo if they did not have the best treatment for my particular type of cancer. Doing your own research and getting second or third opinions from physicians in the field is the best source for your treatment facility. A for-profit TV advertising facility like the Cancer Centers of America would not top my list as a treatment facility no matter nice and friendly the staff may be. My concern is finding a reputable facility that can cure my type of cancer. Your insurance will be paying for all of their staff members who comprise their holistic approach to your cancer. Mayo has treament centers on Arizona, Florida, and Minnesota.

Remember all treatment facilities are interested in the insurance dollars that they will get for your treatment. Spend those dollars wisely. As one person who responded on this message board said, the insurance they had was reaching the max of their policy limits. Do not think for a minute that any of these for-profit cancer facilities or most of the non-profit will give you the care that you may desire if the insurance funds are not there."

Steve

My "experience" with CTCA is limited solely to watching the TV commercials and checking out their web site. Something to think about, despite their extensive drop down list of cities and the impression their TV pitches give, they appear to be only FIVE hosptials. In your case their web site says:
"CTCA Doctors & Other Clinicians closest to Boise, Idaho
The CTCA facility closest to Boise, Idaho is Western Regional Medical Center in GOODYEAR, ARIZONA."
I too love the holistic approach but my bulls**t alarm goes off reading things like: "we use the Mother standard of care" and then they register it as a formal trademark. Hard to not want to have "Mom" serving me organic apple pie as I struggle with Cancer. Last but hardly least for an OCF forum, their Survivor page only lists a single oral cancer survivor and that was for cancer of the larnyx. His treatment of radiation and chemo did not sound any different than what a CCC would give - outside of sending a driver to the airport to pick them up and arranging to stay the whole time in a hospital instead of CCC outpatient normal status.
As you glean from the above, I was and remain very skeptical about CTCA just because it's marketing seem too good to be true and the interviews on their web site show high pressure sales tactics.

Steve,

If your doctor is 'dismissive' of things like nutrition, which is so NOT outside of the traditional modern approach, I would suggest you find a different doctor. Nutrition and mind/body healing IS without question the modern approach.

- Margaret

They don't make anyone's list of the top cancer centers in the US, (except their own). If they spent as much money on patients, staff and equipment as they do on advertising, they might get better ratings. Marketing to the largest disease / patient group in the US, cancer, is big business. And these guys are all about the $, regardless of the feel good ads they run.

I agree that nutrition is part of the process. Once you are diagnosed it alters healing rates if not managed properly. Your body needs the right stuff in the right amounts to repair itself from the treatment damage. But what America needs most to get is that poor nutrition is part of our national problem - raging from obesity, diabetes, heart problems, and more. As part of any curative process it isn't part of the equation.

Please note that I did not comment on the mind body connections which we are understanding more of each day. I stayed away from this, as some want to jump right to mind over matter. Which is to say we are a long way away from controlling any body process related to cure via mental states. Positive attitudes have many cascading positive impacts in your cancer process, and in life in general, but cure isn't one of them.

Good point, Brian. You're exactly right about the mind not being curative all alone. I was thinking more in terms of treating the patient as a whole entity, not just treating a tumor or a disease.

Wouldn't it be nice if all doctors viewed us as individuals, with our own assets and shortcomings, personalities and idiosyncrasies instead of just a disease..... While some do - most, perhaps to prevent the psychic debris of knowing a potentially dying person too well - choose to not. My name is Brian, I am not your 9AM neck dissection tomorrow......

Thanks for the information everybody, you pretty well summed up the concerns I was having and wondering about. The false advertising ding from the FTC really, really bothers me despite the fact it was in '96. I don't like that a bit as to me it reflects on the integrity of the institution. I won't be going there.....thanks all.