Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, is a national, for-profit network of five comprehensive cancer care and research centers and three out patient care centers that serves cancer patients throughout the United States. CTCA follows an integrative approach to cancer care that uses conventional approaches like surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy to treat the cancer, while also offering integrative therapies to help manage side effects like pain, nausea, fatigue, lymphedema, malnutrition, depression and anxiety.
CTCA was originally headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois. In January 2015, the corporate office was moved to Boca Raton, Florida, and was renamed Cancer Treatment Centers of America Global, Inc.
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History
CTCA was founded by Richard J Stephenson after his mother, who had cancer, died. Stephenson was not satisfied with the treatment options which were then available to his mother and opened the first CTCA hospital in 1988. The first hospital to open was Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Chicago located in Zion, Illinois. Four other hospitals opened between 2005 and 2012. In 2018, CTCA expanded into 3 new outpatient care centers located near the Chicago and Phoenix hospitals.
Maps Cancer Treatment Centers of America
Locations
Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) serves cancer patients across the United States and abroad through a network of five comprehensive cancer care and research centers (hospitals) and three outpatient cancer care centers. Each cancer hospital has earned accreditations and certifications from the Joint Commissions, American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, and National Accreditation Program of Breast Centers and is an active participate in clinical trial and TAPUR research studies.
CTCA Comprehensive Cancer Care and Research Centers (Hospitals)
- Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Atlanta (formerly Southeastern Regional Medical Center)
- Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Chicago (formerly Midwestern Regional Medical Center)
- Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Philadelphia (formerly Eastern Regional Medical Center)
- Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Phoenix (formerly Western Regional Medical Center)
- Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Tulsa (formerly Southwestern Regional Medical Center)
CTCA Outpatient Cancer Care Centers
- Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Downtown Chicago
- Cancer Treatment Centers of America, North Phoenix
- Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Scottsdale
CTCA opened the organization's first international patient concierge and information office in the Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood of Mexico City on April 20, 2015. CTCA also maintains an active brand presence in the Middle East, the Caribbean and Latin America, offering patients in these regions the opportunity to pursue treatment at one of the hospital system's five U.S. comprehensive cancer care and research centers.
Accreditation
CTCA hospitals have earned Full Standards Compliance from the Joint Commission, as well as the Top Performer on Key Quality Measures and the Magnet Award. CTCA has also been recognized for strong patient satisfaction scores, with four CTCA hospitals (Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Tulsa) earning Five Star quality ratings by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and recognition by various leading health care organizations, including the Association of Community Cancer Centers and the American College of Radiology.
Another accreditation comes from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, which has awarded three-year full accreditations for the breast programs at four CTCA hospitals (Chicago, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Tulsa). The NABPC has established 27 standards that must be met, including: breast center leadership, research, community outreach, professional education, clinical management and quality improvement.
Controversy
Cancer Treatment Centers of America was the subject of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint in 1993. The FTC alleged that CTCA made false claims regarding the success rates of certain cancer treatments in CTCA's marketing and promotional materials. This claim was settled in March 1996 with an injunction, requiring CTCA to discontinue use of any unsubstantiated claims in its advertising. CTCA is also required to have proven, scientific evidence for all statements regarding the safety, success rates, endorsements, and benefits of its cancer treatments. CTCA was also required to follow various steps in order to report compliance to the FTC per the settlement. The injunction expired in 2016 with no violations over the 20 year period.
In 2001, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued CTCA a Warning Letter concerning three clinical trials that were conducted in violation of FDA requirements.
In 2013, oncologist David Gorski, writing for Science Blogs, published an article that criticized CTCA for using pseudoscientific treatments (e.g., homeopathy) in addition to mainstream treatments. He stated that some "otherwise talented doctors" are now "complicit in the blurring of the line between science and pseudoscience in medicine while believing that they are doing good for the patient by giving them 'holistic care'." The National Cancer Institute (NCI) claims that some complementary therapies (CAM) have undergone careful evaluation and have been found to be safe and effective. Patients considering CAM therapies should talk to a licensed clinician to ensure there are no complications and unintended consequences with their treatment.
It was reported that CTCA made misleading survival rate claims on its website. Cancer experts reviewed CTCA's claims that its survival rates were better than national averages. CTCA compared its outcomes with the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. The experts said that CTCA's patients and SEER's patients were not compatible, and that the comparison was biased in favor of CTCA. For example, CTCA's patients were younger, and better-insured. CTCA screened patients for insurance coverage, and limited access to those who are on Medicare, Medicaid, or uninsured. Additional details on CTCA treatment results on methodology and sources of information can be found on the issued CTCA treatment results publication.
L. Kirk Hagen, humanities professor at the University of Houston-Downtown, points out that in CTCA's Web site is a disclaimer that reads "[The CTCA] makes no claims about the efficacy of specific treatments, the delivery of care, nor the meaning of the CTCA and SEER analysis."
References
External links
- Official website
- Column archives at Modern Healthcare
- Cancer Treatment Centers of America's channel on YouTube
Source of article : Wikipedia
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