Poll Reveals Huge Gap in Unmet Needs Impacting Patient Quality of Life and

Survivorship

    CHICAGO, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Only 30 percent of cancer patients are
 offered nutrition guidance, according to an online poll conducted on
 CancerCompass.com, an online cancer community.
 
     More than 600 cancer patients responded to the poll that asked them,
 "While undergoing cancer treatment, which of the following complementary
 therapies did your treating facility offer?" Services included acupuncture,
 nutritional advice, naturopathic services, mind-body medicine, physical
 therapy, spiritual wellness and family counseling.
 
     Fifty-three percent of respondents were offered no complementary
 services at all. According to Dr. Edgar Staren, senior vice president of
 clinical affairs and chief medical officer at Cancer Treatment Centers of
 America, "The lack of attention to treating the whole person among cancer
 patients has been a shortcoming in cancer treatment for a long time. While
 often effective, too many hospitals choose only to cut, poison or blast
 away at tumors with not enough attention paid to how treatments affect a
 patient's quality of life or even their survival. In many cases, patients
 may suffer because of side effects and complications caused by treatment
 practices with little consideration for the well-being of the whole
 person."
 
     A December 2005 report published by the National Cancer Institute
 stated that as many as 40 percent of cancer deaths are caused by
 malnutrition.(i)
 
     Cancer Treatment Centers of America provides a revolutionary approach
 to cancer treatment, using the latest medical technology combined with
 scientifically supported complementary and alternative medical therapies
 focused on the individual, whole-person needs of each patient.
 
     "I found that nutrition and other complementary therapies were an
 essential part of my treatment plan," said Neroli Duffy, breast cancer
 survivor from Emigrant, Montana. "They helped to strengthen my immune
 system and improve my overall health so that I was in a much better place
 to fight the cancer. No other hospital that I've been to works as hard as
 Cancer Treatment Centers of America to keep the body's immune system strong
 enough to fight cancer. It just makes sense. I knew that I was getting
 state-of-the-art medical, surgical, radiation and oncology treatments
 combined with the best of alternative therapies. I could talk to my
 oncologist about combining all these treatments. It was a team approach to
 beating the cancer -- other centers that I talked to would not even
 consider letting me add complementary therapies -- CTCA was a very clear
 choice for me."
 
     Cancer Treatment Centers of America developed its unique whole person
 integrated model of care to utilize every clinical and natural tool in the
 fight against cancer.
 
     "This poll indicates that one of the most valued - not to mention
 clinically important - options is not offered nearly frequently enough,"
 said Timothy Birdsall, ND, vice president of integrative medicine at Cancer
 Treatment Centers of America. "A solid nutrition program can help keep a
 cancer patient's immune system strong, even in the face of a disease like
 cancer and treatments such as chemotherapy. One of the greatest weapons in
 fighting any disease is the body's immune system. Cancer and the treatments
 we use to destroy tumors have the potential to have a devastating impact on
 the immune system. By the time most hospitals decide that malnutrition is a
 problem, it is often too late. But, if we intervene early, the results can
 be quite dramatic."
 
     Patients at Cancer Treatment Centers of America facilities have a
 nutritionist and naturopath as part of their treatment team, working
 alongside their oncologist and other medical and clinical professionals.
 
     "We treat patients with some of the most complex third- and
 fourth-stage cancer cases," said Dr. Staren. "We use advanced surgical
 techniques and the latest radiation and chemotherapy treatments like
 TomoTherapy and fractionated dose chemotherapy. Our experience in fighting
 cancer along side our patients has taught us that their best chance for
 survival goes well beyond technology. It also requires active nutritional
 support and other complementary therapies like mind-body medicine,
 spiritual support, family counseling and more."
 
     According to Neroli Duffy, Cancer Treatment Centers of America's
 revolutionary way to fight cancer was life saving. "I don't know where I'd
 be today if it wasn't for Cancer Treatment Centers of America," Duffy said.
 "Cancer Treatment Centers of America focused on what was important to me.
 They talked to me. Gave me information I could understand. They asked my
 opinion about treatment options. There is no hospital like it that I have
 ever seen."
 
     About Cancer Treatment Centers of America
     Founded in 1988, Cancer Treatment Centers of America provides advanced
 Patient Empowerment MedicineSM through a network of cancer treatment
 hospitals and community oncology programs in Illinois, Oklahoma, Washington
 and Philadelphia). The facilities provide a comprehensive, patient-centered
 and multidisciplinary path to cancer care by integrating state-of-the-art
 medical treatments with complementary and alternative therapies such as
 nutrition, naturopathy, psychological counseling and spiritual therapy. For
 more information, visit http://www.cancercenter.com or call 1.800.392.4055.
 
     About CancerCompassSM
     CancerCompassSM is an online cancer community committed to offering
 people living with cancer the opportunity to share knowledge and messages
 of hope and healing with others who face a similar cancer challenge. For
 more information, visit http://www.cancercompass.com or send your inquiry
 via email to: info@cancercompass.com.
 
     (i) Nutrition and Cancer Care, National Cancer Institute, December 5,
 2005. (due to length of URL, please copy and paste into browser)
     [http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/supportivecare/nutrition/health
 professional]
 
 
 
 

SOURCE Cancer Treatment Centers of America

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