Cancer Center
What is a cancer center?
A cancer center is a medical facility specializing in diagnosing, studying, and treating cancer. Many cancer centers are affiliated with university medical centers as they also focus on oncology research.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) provides accreditation for cancer centers around the country. The NCI Cancer Centers Program was created as part of the National Cancer Act in 1971 to recognize cancer centers that meet high standards of scientific leadership, state-of-the-art research, and innovation in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
Why are cancer centers important in healthcare?
Cancer centers play a crucial role in healthcare because they focus solely on diagnosing and treating cancer. In addition, cancer centers provide clinical trials, bringing patients the most recent and applicable medical breakthroughs to give them the best possible chance of curing cancer. Research is another focus of cancer centers to further expand medical abilities against this disease.
Many cancer centers also provide public education on cancer screening and prevention, further improving public health. In many cases, this information is targeted toward underserved populations.
The advances made by cancer centers have led to significant improvements in patient quality of life and the number of patients who become cancer survivors.