Many hospitals have cancer care floors or wings. These units tend to do a fair job of caring for patients with cancer. However, if you have recently been diagnosed with cancer, you should consider an alternative to standard hospital care: a dedicated cancer care center. Such businesses exist solely to treat and care for cancer patients. Here are a few advantages of seeking care at a dedicated cancer care center instead of your local hospital.
You'll have access to more specialists.
At a hospital, you may see an oncologist or two, and perhaps a doctor who specializes in the organ system where your cancer is found. But at a cancer care center, you tend to have access to more specialists with specific experience treating cancer. There may be a specialist who treats only the specific kind of cancer you have or another one who specializes in preventing your cancer from spreading. With a disease so complex and nuanced, you really can't have too many educated eyes on your case — and there are lots of educated eyes at a cancer treatment center.
You'll have access to good supportive therapies.
Over the past few years, there has been increased emphasis on the importance of supplemental treatments and supportive therapies for cancer patients. These are not therapies that directly heal your cancer, but instead, they are therapies that help ease the side effects of treatment, boost your mood, and support your body's own healing process.
Examples include massage, chiropractic care, nutritional therapy, and hypnotherapy. Many cancer care centers have practitioners who offer these supportive therapies right on-site. This means you won't have to travel to different facilities to get them. It also means your doctors can communicate better with your other practitioners, such as your chiropractor, resulting in more collaborative and complementary care.
You may get to participate in clinical trials.
New medications for cancer treatment are being developed all of the time. Often, the ones that are found to be safe and likely effective are given to cancer patients at dedicated cancer care centers. If you have a rare cancer or one that is hard to treat, seeking care at a cancer center could mean you get access to state-of-the-art medications before they are widely available.
For most patients, the absolute best place to get treatment for cancer is at a cancer care center. Talk to your physician or click here for more information.
