Find Cancer Treatment Centers

Finding a Provider for Cancer Treatment

When it comes to cancer treatment, you want to know that you or your loved one is receiving high-quality care. Our region is fortunate to have many excellent Board Certified Oncologists (cancer specialists), making it possible to receive high-quality care, close to home, with a minimum of anxiety and inconvenience. Follow this link to find an oncologist oncologist who participates with your health plan.

Special Cancer Referral Centers

On the rare occasion that your case requires a consultation or treatment from a practitioner located outside your community, the medical director from your health plan is available to work with your doctor(s) to identify the cancer treatment center that is right for you. If you are a member of an HMO or other managed care plan, please remember that your doctor's referral to any center outside of the plan network requires prior approval of the medical director for the care to be covered.

Choosing a Cancer Referral Center

We want to ensure that you receive the highest quality care, even if it requires leaving our local service area. That's why we use very specific criteria for recommending a cancer center for our members. These factors are:

1. Designation by the National Cancer Institute as a Comprehensive Cancer Center or as a Clinical Cancer Center. These are research centers that have been acknowledged for their scientific excellence and their comprehensive integrated approaches to treating patients with cancer. It is important to keep in mind that these centers may have experimental as well as proven treatment programs available. You are not required to enter an experimental program you do not believe is right for you. Some experimental programs may not be covered by health insurance.

2. Membership in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. The NCCN is a voluntary alliance that assists its member facilities in developing first rate research programs, and in monitoring the effectiveness of various treatment plans.

3. A reputation of excellence among physicians as a treatment center of the highest quality. We strongly value the opinion of physicians who are specifically involved in the treatment of cancer.

In addition, we require that both the center and its physicians have contracts with their local plans, to ensure that the patient does not incur unexpected out of pocket expenses.

Recommended Referral Cancer Centers

Using these criteria, we identified the following Cancer Treatment Centers that we are confident offer the highest level of both expertise and caring for unusual cancers which may require particularly specialized care. Should your doctor believe that another cancer center is better able to meet the needs of your particular situation, we will work with your physician's to review and address special needs.

For more information, click on the name of the Cancer Center.

• Roswell Park Cancer Center - Buffalo, NY
• Dana Farber Cancer Institute - Boston, MA
• Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center - Durham, NC
• Mayo Clinic Cancer Center - Rochester, MN
• The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at John's Hopkins - Baltimore, MD
• The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center - Houston, TX
• Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center - Nashville, TN