How to Find the Right Oncologist After a Cancer Diagnosis

No matter your circumstances, you should feel empowered to decide who treats your cancer.

Ideally, experts say, you’d be able to easily compare doctors’ experience levels and outcomes across patients they’ve treated with the same diagnosis. But such one-to-one comparisons aren’t always basic to make. “Right now, though, there’s no publicly available data that would support a cancer patient say, ‘Oh, this is where I want to go,’” said Dr. Nancy Keating, a physician and professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School. (And even if there were, one-to-one comparisons aren’t always basic to make, because patient populations vary by doctor.)

Still, there are some accreditations to look for. The National Cancer Institute has given a special designation 72 oncology centerswhich must demonstrate that they are treating patients according to the latest evidence and are also conducting research into novel therapies. The American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer has over 1,500 programs accredited that meet certain standards. The American Society of Clinical Oncology has several certification programs, including a list of 300 practices known for their quality and safety.

There are also resources to support you in your search for oncologists, including: US News and World Report directory that lets you sort by location, patient reviews, and insurance coverage. Consumer research firm Castle Connolly also has database doctors nominated by their colleagues and then assessed in terms of qualifications, interpersonal skills, etc.

Find a team experienced in treating your specific type of cancer.

Look for an oncologist who often treats patients with diagnoses similar to yours. Research has been going on for a long time it has been shown that The more often doctors perform certain procedures, the better the outcomes for their patients. One study found that patients of surgeons who removed more than 25 lung cancer cases per year spent less time in the hospital, were less likely to develop infections, and were more likely to survive three years without their disease coming back.

Dr. Timothy Pawlik, chair of surgery at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said he treats only a few cancers. “You want someone with depth, not breadth,” Dr. Pawlik said. That way, he explained, “a patient may have a infrequent cancer, but it’s not infrequent for that doctor.”