Cancer Centers of America

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ritaclough
ritaclough Member Posts: 44
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I'm heading to a Cancer Centers of America location in IL. for a second opinion and possibly treatment. I like their mind,body soul approach and use of supplements and nutrition, Anyone else use one of these centers?

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  • geotina
    geotina Member Posts: 2,111 Member
    #2
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    Rita:
    I have no personal experience with them. If you enter it in the search part you can bring up prior discussions. I have heard they are quite expensive so make sure you have a full financial understanding. I have also heard that they only work with their own doctors so if you live far away, working with them involves a lot of travel. As far as care received, I have not read anything negative.

    Best of luck and make sure you come back to give us a first hand account.

    Tina
  • ritaclough
    ritaclough Member Posts: 44
    #3
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    geotina said:

    Rita:
    I have no personal experience with them. If you enter it in the search part you can bring up prior discussions. I have heard they are quite expensive so make sure you have a full financial understanding. I have also heard that they only work with their own doctors so if you live far away, working with them involves a lot of travel. As far as care received, I have not read anything negative.

    Best of luck and make sure you come back to give us a first hand account.

    Tina

    They have said that they
    They have said that they will cover all out of network fees which is huge. What they won't cover is anything that comes back from the insurance co. as being deemed beyond "usual and customary" fees. You can't know what those fees are or if there will be, until they are billed. The place sounds amazing and I really want to go there but that makes me nervous.
  • abrub
    abrub Member Posts: 2,174 Member
    #4
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    ritaclough said:

    They have said that they
    They have said that they will cover all out of network fees which is huge. What they won't cover is anything that comes back from the insurance co. as being deemed beyond "usual and customary" fees. You can't know what those fees are or if there will be, until they are billed. The place sounds amazing and I really want to go there but that makes me nervous.

    "Usual and Customary"
    Please check with your insurer regarding Usual and Customary. I know the amount my insurer was billed for my care at Memorial Sloan Kettering, and insurance paid them as much as 85% for some things, but as little as 25% of the billed amount for others. As they are in network for me, MSK was not allowed to bill me the difference. However, for someone for whom MSK is out of network, they would have been responsible for the many thousands of dollars of expenses out of pocket that are above those fees.

    Please be careful with CTCA. My phone interactions with them were such that I did not pursue them. They are concerned about funds up front - you need to know what you are getting into, and hopefully, not burying yourself with expenses.
  • ritaclough
    ritaclough Member Posts: 44
    #5
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    abrub said:

    "Usual and Customary"
    Please check with your insurer regarding Usual and Customary. I know the amount my insurer was billed for my care at Memorial Sloan Kettering, and insurance paid them as much as 85% for some things, but as little as 25% of the billed amount for others. As they are in network for me, MSK was not allowed to bill me the difference. However, for someone for whom MSK is out of network, they would have been responsible for the many thousands of dollars of expenses out of pocket that are above those fees.

    Please be careful with CTCA. My phone interactions with them were such that I did not pursue them. They are concerned about funds up front - you need to know what you are getting into, and hopefully, not burying yourself with expenses.

    Abrub
    Thanks for the warning. I will proceed with caution. I will be talking to the financial department tomorrow. I would think they've had similar experience with many and should be able to give me an idea of costs involved here. If not I'll be disappointed but won't proceed with them. Doubtful my insurance co will be able to help unless I can give them a specific treatment and physicians cost.
  • bdee
    bdee Member Posts: 304
    #6
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    CC of A
    They accepted my insurance, but wouldn't take my kind of cancer. Stage IV Appendix Cancer with seven tumors.

    Debbie in Arkansas
  • Brenda3.16
    Brenda3.16 Member Posts: 209
    #7
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    bdee said:

    CC of A
    They accepted my insurance, but wouldn't take my kind of cancer. Stage IV Appendix Cancer with seven tumors.

    Debbie in Arkansas

    I have done a lot of
    I have done a lot of research on the Cancer Treatment Centers. I think they sound great. I spoke on the phone with a former patient there who had great things to say about it. I read the book that their chaplain wrote "A Reason for Hope" by Michael Barry and it was one of the best books that I ever read.

    I live in NE PA and would have to travel to the facility in Chicago due to my insurance. I will be really interested to hear about your experience. I think they sound great. Good Luck. Brenda
  • Mama G
    Mama G Member Posts: 762
    #8
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    Brenda3.16 said:

    I have done a lot of
    I have done a lot of research on the Cancer Treatment Centers. I think they sound great. I spoke on the phone with a former patient there who had great things to say about it. I read the book that their chaplain wrote "A Reason for Hope" by Michael Barry and it was one of the best books that I ever read.

    I live in NE PA and would have to travel to the facility in Chicago due to my insurance. I will be really interested to hear about your experience. I think they sound great. Good Luck. Brenda

    please update us!
    How did it go? Anyone else have any other suggestions for cancer treatment centers? I hear a lot of good things about mD Anderson.
  • ritaclough
    ritaclough Member Posts: 44
    #9
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    Mama G said:

    please update us!
    How did it go? Anyone else have any other suggestions for cancer treatment centers? I hear a lot of good things about mD Anderson.

    Consult
    I have a consult next week. They fly me out there( even for every treatment if I choose to go there),rooms are only 75.00 for the total stay,all food is included. I will update.
  • HeartofSoul
    HeartofSoul Member Posts: 729 Member
    #10
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    ritaclough said:

    Consult
    I have a consult next week. They fly me out there( even for every treatment if I choose to go there),rooms are only 75.00 for the total stay,all food is included. I will update.

    BEWARE as you cant be too
    BEWARE as you cant be too careful with them, i have heard nuermous compalints and many of their practices and policies have been questioned, if they sound great, its their marketing dept at work, suppliments and nutrion are complimentary only, your focus should not be that.

    please get other opinions

    below is a collection of posts on Cancer Treatments Center of America from this very web site (CSN)

    there are about 30 posts on expereiences with Cancer Treatments Center of America

    http://csn.cancer.org/node/179783
  • Kathryn_in_MN
    Kathryn_in_MN Member Posts: 1,252 Member
    #11
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    HeartofSoul said:

    BEWARE as you cant be too
    BEWARE as you cant be too careful with them, i have heard nuermous compalints and many of their practices and policies have been questioned, if they sound great, its their marketing dept at work, suppliments and nutrion are complimentary only, your focus should not be that.

    please get other opinions

    below is a collection of posts on Cancer Treatments Center of America from this very web site (CSN)

    there are about 30 posts on expereiences with Cancer Treatments Center of America

    http://csn.cancer.org/node/179783

    So true
    They have a very good marketing plan - big business marketing...

    Think about Sloan Kettering, MD Anderson, Duke or others if you need procedures not done locally.

    As for the rest, you can put together your own complimentary medicine no matter where you are treated. See an oncology dietician (about 200 registered in the US). Consider seeing a chiropractor or someone that knows their way around holistic ways for supplements. Check into acupuncture and/or Chineese herbs (with a qualified professional).
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    #12
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    CCTA
    Rita,

    The big thing about them is that they do not allow any "outside" doctors to take part in your case. It's them or nobody, all or nothing. I did not particulary like that. I like to assemble my own medical team and switch if I feel I need to.

    I'm also not fond of their corny advertising. They prey on the newly diagnosed, who are emotionally vulnerable and looking for a miracle.

    Caution is definitely the course here. Also consider good teaching hospitals in your area or elsewhere.

    They offer nutriton and spirituality and that seems to be the difference in them and other treatment centers or a hospital cancer center setting.

    Good luck with your consult and just weigh your options carefully.

    -Craig
  • scouty
    scouty Member Posts: 1,965 Member
    #13
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    Keep us posted
    I have a dear friend who lost his fight that went to the same Ill. location for late life help and he and his family were thrilled with the results. He actually told me that he wished he had gone there sooner in his battle because he KNEW he would have had better chances.

    Don't read too much in the for profit stuff. Many very good cancer centers are private/for profit hospitals (Duke comes to mind since I live in NC and contacted them at the start of my journey). Private hospitals are much pickier about insurance, they can say no, public hospitals can't NOT treat people since they get local and state tax support. I think many here would be surprised at who is private/for profit vs. who is public if they really looked into it.

    I also remember a few here who called and were told the CCTA would do the same as their local docs would so "save your money". I don't think there is anything wrong with that.

    Now for TV commercials, who the heck believes them anyway. Come on, where I live health insurance and pharmaceutical companies lie on theirs all the time and always play on our emotions. TV commercials are propaganda and are rarely truthful, there is no money is telling the truth too many times. Just ask our politicians.

    Please keep us posted and I hope the best for you. Follow your gut and trust your senses.

    Lisa P.

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