American College of Surgeons - Commission on Cancer    

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with cancer, you will have many important issues to consider and decisions to make. But there is one very important thing you won't have to worry about—and that is, where you can find the best possible treatment for your condition.

That's because the best in today's cancer care can be found in a Commission on Cancer (CoC) Approved Cancer Program.

The Saint Elizabeth Cancer Institute is proud to have received approval from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. Only one in four hospitals that treats cancer patients receives this special approval. CoC accreditation recognizes the quality of comprehensive cancer care available at a facility and offers a commitment that you will have access to all of the various medical specialists who are involved in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.  

Approval by the CoC is given only to those facilities that have voluntarily committed to provide the best in diagnosis and treatment of cancers. To meet the standards necessary for Commission approval, each cancer program, and the organization that controls it, must undergo a rigorous evaluation process and a review of its performance. In order to maintain approval, facilities with approved cancer programs must under an onsite review every three years.

Receiving care at a CoC Approved Cancer Program ensures that you will receive:

• Quality care close to home 
• Comprehensive care offering a range of state-of-the-art services and equipment 
• A multi-specialty, team approach to coordinate the best treatment options available to cancer patients 
• Access to cancer-related information, education, and support 
• A cancer registry that collects data on type and stage of cancers and treatment results, and offers lifelong patient follow-up 
• Ongoing monitoring and improvement of care 
• Information about ongoing clinical trials and new treatment options 

The CoC Approvals Program encourages hospitals, treatment centers, and other facilities to improve their quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs. These programs are concerned with prevention, early diagnosis, pretreatment evaluation, staging, optimal treatment, rehabilitation, surveillance for recurrent disease and multiple primary tumors, psychosocial support, and care at the end of life. This availability of a full range of medical services involved in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer at approved cancer programs has resulted in approximately 80 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer patients being treated in Commission on Cancer approved cancer programs.

View CoC Quality Standards

Currently, there are more than 1,400 Commission on Cancer approved cancer programs in the United States and Puerto Rico, representing close to 25 percent of all hospitals. In addition, there is a network of about 1,600 volunteer physician representatives who support cancer-control activities in their local communities. 

Categories of Approval

So, as you begin thinking about treatment and ongoing care for your condition, you can be assured that you won't need to travel great distances from home, because the care you need may be right in your own community. No one can guarantee the outcome of any type of treatment, but by coming to an approved cancer treatment program, you can be sure that you will receive the best in diagnosis and treatment of cancer and that full consultative services will be available from all medical disciplines involved in diagnosing and treating cancer. And you can be sure that your condition will be watched carefully through a lifelong program of follow-up care.