Top Rated Cancer Treatment Centers

Cancer treatment centers provide a place for those diagnosed with cancer to receive care from oncology experts. Treatment centers are usually on the cutting edge of research and technology. But in a field of excellence, a few treatment centers have managed to distinguish themselves as the cream of the crop.

Statistics
As of 2010, 40 cancer treatment centers in the United States have been designated by the National Cancer Institute as comprehensive cancer centers. These centers have been singled out because they offer state-of-the-art research programs aimed at preventing, treating and curing cancer.

History
The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, founded as the New York Cancer Hospital in 1884, is the country's oldest cancer treatment center. And it turns out, it is also one of the country's best.

Geography
If you have to travel to get to the best cancer treatment center near you, the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge program may be able to help. Cancer patients can stay at a Hope Lodge at no charge while undergoing treatment away from their homes.

Considerations
"U.S. News & World Report" ranked cancer treatment centers on several factors, including reputation among oncology specialists, mortality rate, nurse staffing ratio and access to cutting-edge technologies.

The Five Best
According to a study done by "U.S. News & World Report," the following cancer centers are the top five in the nation: University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City; Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland; Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota; and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts.