When facing a breast cancer diagnosis, one of the most important decisions you (or a loved one) will make is which hospital or treatment center to choose for treatment. Location, insurance coverage and your primary care doctor’s recommendations may all be considerations.
However, you will also want to research hospitals and centers on your own, to find the one where you have trust in your care team and confidence that you’re getting the best treatment for your type of breast cancer.
“When it comes to cancer, where you get care matters,” says Natalie Johnson, M.D., a surgical oncologist specializing in breast cancer surgery at City of Hope® Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center.
During a recent appearance on the Talking Hope Podcast, Dr. Johnson recommends choosing a hospital where staff is trained to understand what patients are going through emotionally and to help them navigate their treatments.
“Patients need to have a sense of confidence and feel they are in the right place for their cancer treatment,” she says.
This article offers seven considerations to help patients choose the right treatment center for their breast cancer care:
- Consider a Hospital or Center That Specializes In Cancer
- Look for a Hospital With Credentials and Accreditations
- Make Sure Your Cancer Treatment Is Personalized
- Find Out About Your Breast Cancer Surgery Options
- Ask if the Hospital or Center Has a Focus on Women’s Health
- Find a Hospital That Offers Coordinated Care
- Look for a Hospital That Integrates Supportive Care
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with breast cancer and are looking for a second opinion, call us 24/7 at 877-524-4673.
Consider a Hospital or Center That Specializes In Cancer
”It's hard with all the advances in medicine to be a jack of all trades,” says Dr. Johnson. “If you're trying to keep up the equipment for the latest in delivering babies and treating heart attacks, then you may not be able to buy all the newest radiation machines and surgical instruments needed for cancer.”
She recommends choosing a cancer hospital that offers the whole spectrum of cancer care. She says the hospital should offer screening and diagnostic services, including an array of imaging modalities, multimodality surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and other types of systemic therapies, including immunotherapy.
Hospitals and centers that specialize in cancer may also offer genetic testing and treatments specific to cancer types by looking at the genetics of a tumor, how it’s responding to treatment and adjusting treatment based on its effectiveness. “For example, at City of Hope, we're constantly looking at outcomes and revising these [treatment] approaches based on that. It really enables patients to get leading-edge treatment and the best possible outcomes,” Dr. Johnson explains.
Clinical trials are also essential to cancer hospitals that pride themselves on advanced treatment options, since these are where new discoveries in cancer begin. You may never need to be part of a clinical trial, but cancer hospitals that are actively engaged in clinical trials don’t just keep up with current treatment guidelines, they improve them constantly based on new information, says Dr. Johnson.
Look for a Cancer Hospital With Accreditations and Certifications
Accreditations awarded by The Joint Commission, an international non-profit organization, are considered the “gold standard” for all types of health care facilities: hospitals, doctor’s offices, nursing homes, laboratories, surgery centers and more. According to the website, over 15,000 health care organizations have earned Joint Commission accreditation, including City of Hope hospitals.
Why is Joint Commission accreditation important? It means the hospital has met rigorous standards for patient safety and quality of care.
For cancer hospitals, two additional accreditations to look for are from:
- The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons
- The National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Hospitals with CoC accreditation consistently demonstrate cancer programs noted for high quality, patient-centered care by providing:
- A comprehensive, multidisciplinary team approach
- Access to information on clinical and new treatment options
- Ongoing monitoring of care and lifelong patient follow-up
- Psychosocial support and survivorship care
- Continuous quality improvements in care
City of Hope Cancer Centers in Duarte, California, Atlanta, Chicago and Phoenix have earned CoC accreditations for many of their cancer programs and are recognized by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) for providing high-quality breast care.
NCI, an agency within the National Institutes of Health, recognizes cancer centers that meet rigorous standards for state-of-the-art research focused on developing new and better approaches to preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer. According to the NCI website, there are only 72 NCI-designated cancer centers around the country, including City of Hope in Duarte.
Additionally, many patients look to published hospital rankings available online when researching hospitals. One of the oldest and most comprehensive hospital rankings is U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Hospitals rankings, which has been around for 30 years.
According to the 2024-2025 report, U.S. News evaluates 6,000 hospitals and 15 specialty areas of care, including cancer. City of Hope’s National Medical Center in Los Angeles was recognized as one of the nation’s top 5 hospitals for cancer care in the most recent report.
Becoming informed about your treatment hospital’s accreditations and certifications may give you greater confidence that you’re getting the best cancer care available.
Make Sure Your Cancer Treatment Is Personalized
Even though breast cancer is among the most common types of the disease, no two cancers are alike. You may respond differently, physically and emotionally, than a friend or family member to specific breast cancer treatments.
“Breast cancer care and care for any cancer is very nuanced and very individualized,” says Dr. Johnson. “As soon as a patient gets a breast cancer diagnosis, she may be reading online, talking to friends or family who've had similar problems. Some shared information can be helpful, but some may lead to confusion and more questions.”
An important first step in choosing where to be treated for breast cancer is meeting with your cancer team, which will include a breast cancer oncologist.
To ensure your treatment is individualized to your health goals and treatment wishes, prepare a list of questions for your appointment. You may want to ask:
- How much experience and success do you and your team have in treating my type of cancer?
- Which treatments are recommended for me, and how many of them are offered by your hospital?
- What are the possible short-term and long-term side effects of the treatments?
- How will you and your team help me manage my symptoms and side effects?
- Does your hospital offer supportive services (such as clinical nutrition, physical therapy and emotional support)?
- Does your hospital offer sexual health services for cancer survivors (such as body image support and intimacy counseling)?
- Does your hospital offer support to help me and my family deal with the practical concerns of cancer treatment (such as financial counseling, navigating insurance and transportation to appointments)?
Find Out About Your Breast Cancer Surgery Options
The most common form of treatment for breast cancer is surgery. Surgery for breast cancer has come a long way in the last five to 10 years, says Dr. Johnson, who researches innovative approaches to cancer surgery. “I hear horrifying stories from my patients about what their grandparents and aunts went through, and that's not breast cancer surgery today,” she explains.
Breast cancer surgeons now use minimally invasive techniques, including hidden scar surgery. Patients who are candidates for lumpectomy may be able to have a breast reduction or a breast lift at the same time, if they wish.
One of the most recent innovations in breast cancer surgery is a “nipple-sparing mastectomy,” Dr. Johnson notes. “If a patient does need a mastectomy, we can preserve her whole skin envelope and nipple and do a reconstruction that really looks very natural to the shape and size,” she says.
As far as breast reconstruction is concerned, direct implants are now available. Dr. Johnson explains that in direct implants, one surgery is performed to reconstruct the breasts instead of using temporary implants that have to be filled week after week and require a second surgery to exchange for permanent implants.
Additionally, many surgical advancements are now available to help breast cancer patients return to health after treatment. For example, nerve re-innovation surgery preserves sensation in the breast following mastectomy and reconstruction. Prophylactic surgeries are also available to help decrease the risk of lymphedema (swelling in the arms), which may be a complication of breast cancer surgery.
Ask if the Hospital or Center Has a Focus on Women’s Health
Cancer centers with a focus on women’s health may offer greater understanding and services for health issues connected to breast cancer. For example, studies show that having breast cancer puts patients at slightly higher risk for getting thyroid cancer later in life and vice versa, explains Dr. Johnson.
There are also overlapping gene mutations that may put breast cancer patients at higher risk for other cancers. “Women with BRCA gene mutations also have a higher risk for melanoma,” she says.
An advantage of being treated at cancer hospitals with a focus on women’s health is that they may stay at the forefront of advances in other, related cancers, according to Dr. Johnson. When treating breast cancer patients, they may take a proactive approach by being aware of and screening for other cancers.
Find a Hospital That Offers Coordinated Care
Choosing a cancer center that offers coordinated care may give patients greater peace of mind.
Throughout cancer treatment, you will have a team of doctors, which may include a medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, surgical oncologist, reconstructive surgeon and others. Appointments with your team members will occur over many months, and sometimes years. Additionally, communication among your doctors and with you is key in developing, monitoring and adjusting your treatment plan as needed.
Coordinated care means your cancer hospital provides you with a care coordinator or nurse navigator to help you navigate treatments, including scheduling appointments, coordinating communications and getting answers to your questions as they arise.
Look for a Hospital That Integrates Supportive Care
The stress and anxiety that may accompany diagnosis and treatment of cancer may weigh on patients and their loved ones. Supportive care staff members are highly trained experts, able to help you and your family with emotional, social and spiritual support. This is often referred to as “a whole-person” approach to cancer care.
“There have been studies looking at the mind-body connection,” explains Dr. Johnson. “Supportive services for patients may include everything from psychology, psychiatry, support groups, integrative medicine approaches, yoga and nutrition. It’s hard to quantify…but there have been studies looking at better outcomes in patients who stay active through their treatment.”
Supportive care is designed to help patients cope with the powerful treatments needed to destroy cancer by reducing side effects and improving quality of life.
“It's important to remember that cancer treatment is not just about quantity of life, but quality of life,” says Dr. Johnson. “I hope to instill in my patients a sense of optimism, a sense that whatever the best possible outcomes for their particular situation could be, can come to fruition.”
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with breast cancer and are looking for a second opinion, call us 24/7 at 877-524-4673.