A cancer diagnosis is very scary for most of us. However, this fear is most easily overcome by obtaining the best cancer treatment in the world. World class alternative cancer treatment is only possible by consulting one of the best alternative cancer treatment centers in the world.
The inference of the term ‘best’ here means reliable from all angles, which can be in the form of expectations, care, communication, and therapy service. In other words, such a treatment center not only suggests the most suitable treatment for cancer but also renders it in such a way that it gives beyond satisfactory experience during and after recovery.
It is obvious for anyone to ensure to have the best cancer treatment in the world as soon as after cancer detection. Thus, it is wise to choose the most reliable doctor and treatment center. In fact, it is a critical decision to take.
These days, it is more obvious for cancer patients to go for alternative therapies rather than preparing for the chemo and radiation treatments. They quickly look for best alternative cancer clinics in the world. However, to identify them, it is essential to know what to look for in them. This is because not all of them are the best although they may be popular. Thus, here are some factors to consider for finding the best cancer clinic.
Accreditation
Facilities that voluntarily commit to offer the best services for diagnosing and treating cancer are eligible for accreditation as a cancer center. This is exactly what qualifies them for Commission on Cancer (CoC) accreditation in the U.S.A.
Complying with the CoC standards, these facilities offer CoC-accredited programs or services that come with comprehensive care from experts who find the best cancer treatment in the world for a patient. In the U.S.A. alone, more than 1300 facilities are CoC-accredited.
It is wise to look for a center that is specialized to treat the type of cancer you have. For example, there are accredited breast cancer centers to look for. The American College of Surgeons assesses such centers via its National Accreditation Program.
For obtaining its accreditation, the facilities need to meet stringent standards for handling patients, offering services, carrying on physician education, and performing clinical trials. Accredited facilities willingly agree to retain a high level of medical care. They go through the re-certification process after every three years.
Another popular accreditation to look for is from the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI). An AACI member is committed to eliminating cancer via a multidisciplinary program of research, care, treatment, prevention, and public outreach.
The accreditation from National Cancer Institute (NCI) is also worthy of your choice. Belonging to the US National Institutes for Health, this institute is committed to comprehend, prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer. It aims to improve the quality of clinical research for treating or preventing cancer. The institute distinguishes three levels of cancer centers, ranging from a basic to a comprehensive one.
You can easily look up for reliable centers at the official site of Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC). It is a membership organization serving hospitals, care centers, and physicians. The site provides basic details about the cancer programs at its hundreds of member institutions.
If the patient is a kid, it is wise to look for a member of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG). This institution aims to cure and prevent the disease in kids and teens via systematic research and all-inclusive care. The institution has over 200 member centers associated with a hospital for kids or a university.
Quality of Service
Just looking for accreditation may not be enough to convince you for relying on a particular local cancer center. In that case, you can use the qualitycheck.org service to check its performance. Through this online service, you can assess the performance any local hospital, clinic, surgery center, or other cancer facility. The result on this site is fetched from JCAHO, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Well, this institution alone endorses above 15,000 health care centers.
Experience
The more the experience, the better the expertise is! Thus, it is important to ask a facility or a clinic about their experience in treating a specific type of cancer. The best alternative cancer clinics in the world have more than a handful of years of experience in treating cancer. So, you may feel like finding answers to the following questions:
• What your facility does?
• How many patients are having an advanced stage of cancer?
• Which kind of tumors does it treat?
• How long has this clinic or hospital been in practice?
• How many people are being currently treated?
• How many people are already treated?
• How many times a specific procedure has been conducted?
• How many doctors are at the service, what are their certifications, and what is their experience in treating your cancer type?
In case you are asked to meet a specific doctor or a therapist, it is useful to find out their success rate. It is also handy to know what is their definition of success for that specific cancer type and which factors led to failure of treatment, if any.
Experience during Interaction
While finding about the facility and its doctors, it is wise to find out how comfortable it made you feel. To do so, it is essential to ask yourself the following questions after interaction:
• Was the concerned staff member or doctor listening to what you were saying?
• Did the concerned member or doctor allow you to ask questions?
• Were satisfactory answers given to you?
• Did the member or doctor seem comfortable while replying?
• Were you able to understand what was being said?
• Were you given due respect?
• Were you informed about the therapy options and asked for preferences?
• Did the doctor or staff member give enough time to you?
Well, these are just a few questions whose answers could be negative after the first meet or call. Give yourself a second time to judge, as it can take two to three visits to know the facility and its doctors.