Where to Go for Cancer Treatment

Once you've been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, the next important step is deciding where you will go (and who you will work with) for treatment.

With the multitude of available options, you may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of evaluating medical facilities. Unless you're a medical professional, you're probably not up-to-date on the country's top cancer facilities, let alone aware of how to choose an oncologist. Fortunately, many resources can help you learn about and evaluate cancer treatment facilities near and far, and ensure you get the medical care you need.

Ask Your Doctor or Oncologist

Although the doctor who discovered your thyroid cancer will be only one of many you work with during your illness, she's a good resource to begin with. If you already have an oncologist, she might also be particularly well informed about cancer treatment facilities. Very often the doctors you work with will be affiliated with medical facilities, or have colleagues who are, and this may determine your choice of cancer facilities.

Some questions you may want to ask your doctor include:

• Are there any cancer treatment facilities nearby that you recommend?
• Is there anything about my diagnosis that would require treatment at a particular hospital?
• What specific type of thyroid cancer do I have?
• Would you recommend I travel to one of the larger medical facilities for treatment?

If you have insurance, find out which specific practitioners and medical facilities you can work with.

Top Cancer Facilities

If you want to make sure that you're obtaining treatment at medical facilities committed to providing top of the line care for cancer patients, check out these accrediting organizations:

• Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI): AACI researches new ways to prevent and treat cancer and helps educate patients, families and communities; it consists of a network of 95 leading cancer research facilities across the U.S.
• Cancer Centers Program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI): NCI supports cancer research facilities across the country. The NCI website provides information on programs and medical facilities, and can help you find the cancer research facilities near you.
• Commission on Cancer (CoC), organized by the American College of Surgeons: CoC accredits over 1,400 facilities treating the majority of new cancer cases in the U.S., based on their ability to provide the best in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Resources

CancerLinks USA Staff. (1998). Find a center. Retrieved March 24, 2010, from the CancerLinks USA Web site: http://www.cancerlinksusa.com/top10.htm.

American Cancer Society Staff. (2009). Choosing a doctor and hospital. Retrieved March 25, 2010, from the American Cancer Society Web site: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/eto_2_4_choosing_a_doctor.asp.

Association of American Cancer Institutes Staff. (n.d.). AACI fact sheet. Retrieved March 25, 2010, from the Association of American Cancer Institutes Web site: http://www.aaci-cancer.org/.