Most mesothelioma doctors work at hospitals that are good at cancer care. Mesothelioma cancer is best treated at large cancer centers which have the needed experience in mesothelioma treatment. If you live in a small town, you may need to travel to a larger city to find a center with enough mesothelioma cancer experience. This experience advantage may be the key to getting the best possible treatment and be well worth any extra travel or inconvenience to you in the short-term.
These are some steps you should take to look for the best treatment center:
1-Ask other doctors and nurses for their opinions on hospitals in your area. Your primary doctor who was the first doctor to suspect that you have this type of cancer is the first person you should ask to suggest the names of 2 -3 good mesothelioma doctors and the hospitals where they are currently practicing to you.
2-You can also seek for information from an organization called The Joint Commission. This organization accredits hospitals that meet their very stringent although not all the hospitals they accredit are expert in cancer treatment.
You can go to their website at www.jointcommision.org and do a quality check on the performance of the cancer center that you are considering. You can search for the cancer treatment center by name, zip code, or state. You can also access them by phoning 630-792-5800.
3- Another organization that will be of immense help to you is the Commission on Cancer (CoC) program of the American College of Surgeons. This program through their cancer treatment facilities approval program approves hospitals or facilities that have committed to provide the best in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Its list of approved facilities includes more than 1,400 cancer centers throughout the United States.
A good way to judge the quality of cancer care at a treatment facility is to find out if it has been approved by the CoC. If it has, you know it meets certain standards and offers a range of cancer care services. No matter its size or location, its ability to deliver quality cancer care is constantly being surveyed by the CoC.
CoC-approved cancer programs are found in many different kinds of hospitals or facilities. They may be in major treatment centers, community hospitals, or other diagnostic and treatment centers. Approved programs must provide state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment services. They have many different specialists available to treat patients, and they can give you information on clinical trials and new treatment options. CoC-approved cancer programs also must offer life-long follow-up care to people with cancer. This gives patients ongoing long-term care so that any problems, such as late side effects, recurrences, or new cancers, are found and treated as soon as possible.
4- Finally you can also make use of the programs of the National Cancer Institute. This institute (NCI) is part of the U.S. National Institutes for Health. The NCI is dedicated to better understanding, diagnosing, treating, and preventing cancer for all people. Its goal is to support and enhance the quality of clinical cancer research. The NCI works with more than 60 cancer treatment centers in the United States. It recognizes 3 levels of cancer treatment centers, ranging from a comprehensive cancer center to the more basic cancer treatment center. These facilities are often housed at universities and research is a large focus.
You can get a list of the NCI-designated Cancer Centers and read more about the NCI by visiting the NCI Web site at www.cancer.gov. You can also learn more about your cancer and treatment options at the NCI Cancer Information Service, available at www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Information/CIS.
Bello kamorudeen. http://www.mesotheliomacorner.blogspot.com
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