Did you know you can choose where you get your radiation cancer treatment?

Let me tell you two stories. Their names have been changed to protect their identity. The first story is about Mary Higgins.
 Mary Higgins is a timid, slightly grayed 55-year-old working mother of two teenage boys, who was just diagnosed with breast cancer. She was recently seen at a NYC hospital by a breast surgeon who after a work up performed a lumpectomy as part of her breast conservation treatment. Mary did not need chemotherapy but was told that she needed a radiation oncology evaluation. She was referred to the radiation oncologist at that same NYC hospital.
 Mary went home and called to schedule her appointment with the hospital radiation oncologist and was given an appointment for the following week. Being nervous and having to sit for a week with no answers, Mary got on her computer and Googled breast cancer treatment. That is how she found The Farber Center. Mary called us asked if she could come in on her own or did she need her doctor to request a consult. We told Mary she can schedule an appointment and we will take care of the rest. We saw Mary the same day. When Mary arrived she walked into what seemed like a spa and was “blown away” by the experience. Mary was greeted by Vivian, our patient concierge, who took her coat, got her a beverage, and held her hand through all the paperwork. After Mary’s consult and a tour of the facility, she was angry that she was not sent here first by her physician. Mary felt that going into a hospital every day for several weeks was just a reminder that she was sick. She asked why wouldn’t her physician have sent her here first.
The reality is hospitals are businesses and they put pressure on the physicians to refer within the hospital.

There are some physicians, particularly urologist, that only send to centers with whom they have a relationship (click for article)

Let me tell you about Bob: 
Bob Wright is a physically fit 60-year-old father of two teenage girls and a son in college. Bob was just diagnosed with prostate cancer and was sent to the Upper East Side to a radiation center with whom his urologist has a “relationship”. Bob went for his radiation oncology consult on the upper east side. He was told his treatment would be everyday for nine weeks. Bob lives in the Village and works downtown and got on the Internet thinking, “there has to be something closer to me.” Bob went on Yahoo and Googled prostate cancer treatment and found The Farber Center. He called us and scheduled a consultation. After his consultation, Bob realized that the Upper East Side center did not treat with cone beam CT (which is considered the best type of image guided radiation treatment for prostate cancer). Bob was upset. He was sent to this other center, which was farther away from his office and home, and offered less than state-of-the-art treatment. He asked if his urologist knew of us. The answer was yes, and in fact, the physicians at The Farber Center went out of their way to drop off information on the center and introduce themselves prior to Bob’s visit with them.

GET A SECOND OPINION FROM AN INDEPENDENT PHYSICIAN. ASK YOUR DOCTOR. It’s YOUR LIFE. It’s your choice. EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO CHOOSE!