A very dear friend of my husband and I was just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It has spread to a spot on the liver and lymph nodes. Cancer Treatment Centers of America do not take his insurance. We live near the East Coast. Any suggestions on top notch facilities? Staying in my small town for treatment is not an option. Thanks.
Cancer - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Duke and Johns Hopkins are great facilities. However, pancreatic cancer diagnosis is pretty much the kiss of death. I would look into palliative care for this gentleman.
2 :
Johns Hopkins would be my first choice. In fact, I have had consultations there ... they are a leading pancreatic cancer center and an NCI approved cancer treatment facility.
3 :
Johns Hopkins for sure. They ahve a Pancreatic Cancer Message Board where you can ask many questions regarding treatment, either there or at other facilities. Unfortunately, unless he is Stage I, the treatment at any cancer facility is goingot be the same, which is chemo. At this point the idea is to buy as much time as possible while waiting for better therapies to come along. here's the link to JHU: http://www.path.jhu.edu/pancreas_chat/
4 :
The National Cancer Institute has a list of designated comprehensive cancer centers located across the United States. These are among the best cancer hospitals in the world, they share information and are affiliated with research or university teaching hospitals. Among the top rated cancer hospitals are MD Anderson, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Dana Farber (Harvard) You can locate the nearest facility from the NCI site: NCI: Cancer Centers by state http://cancercenters.cancer.gov/cancer_centers/cancer-centers-list.html
5 :
My $.02 goes to MD Anderson, as they are active in research in pancreatic caner. Johns Hopkins is a fine institution as well. I would caution against building up emotionally a visit to a center as cancer of the pancreas that has spread to liver is not curable. treatment generally involves gemcitabine, which any oncologist can give. At major centers, there will likely be clinical trials- these would be the preferred option for treatment, but rarely do the trials show that the experimental arm is better than the standard arm (usually gemcitabine) unfortunately. Many times the best option here is to preserve resources and go with local palliative care. Blessings
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