Good research but not accurate
 

OK, I went back and looked at the Robert Boissoneault Oncology Institute ad and website and also at the Villages Daily Sun from October 28th groundbreaking article. This Boissoneault group is accredited by the American College of Radiology, they don't seem to claim to be an NCI comprehensive center.

What is interesting if you read the Oct 28 Daily sun article is that quote "The medical doctor that provides radiation therapy, the physicist and dosimetrist will all be Moffitt employees. And then we'll have all the local private medical oncologists also in our center algonside their Moffitt counterparts in radiation". So what is interesting is that Moffitt is only bringing one radiation doctor as the Boissoneault ad said. The key word is that they will keep all the "local" medical oncologists.

Something is fishy here, either this Boissoneault guys are lying (and somehow managed to be in the Villages for 13 years, let's face it, how many of us have been in the Villages that long?) or someone is trying to bring only one doctor and have the community believe is the entire Moffitt center coming our way and on top of everything the community is being asked to pay for the same equipment that is already here. More information is needed, the truth is out there somewhere.

Thanks for the research, LuvIt. As with most things, there are two sides to every story and the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. I'm sure the Boissaneault facility is a quality operation. I am assuming that someone (Moffitt or TVRH) has done the demographic research to justify the demand and need for a new facility here. RBO probably cannot meet the total demand.

The paper mentioned yesterday that a storefront in Lake Sumter Landing will be open on Monday dedicated to the Moffitt center fundraising effort. A good opportunity to stop in and get your quesions answered.

The only problem I have about asking for donations for the equipment is that Moffitt and Villages Health System will be billing everyones insurance and getting copays for all of that equipment. Are we going to get a discount on the price if we have treatment there?

You are catching on. Are the residents of Leesburg being asked to donate the equipment for their center, or is it coming from CFHA? My guess is that this is the price that we have to pay to get a center in TV. I seriously doubt the financial feasibility study supports two centers without this donation.

I don't mind that other people would benefit.

As Russ says, you can choose to donate or not. It will be there for you anyway.

Ditto. I am very satisfied with the treatment I received at RBOI. Can't say for sure all of my cancer cells are gone, but my PSA, 0.04, keeps me smiling.

thanks for the explanation
 

Thanks for the explanation on the difference between the two centers. It does sound as if we can support both centers with Moffitt being more varied in what it offers. Anything we can do to fight cancer is good with me!!

How close is it to the Villages. Do they need Nurses. As for teaching hospitals , I would not get sick in July if I were you. That is when all the newbes start.This is not opinion. This was told to me by other Nurses at a teaching hospital. They also taught me how to protect myself from the newbes coming back to their charts and charting an order at 8 am when they actuallly wrote the order at 2 pm. Then trying to blame Nurses for missing it.

I would rather work with a team that all know each other and trust each other when taking care of patients. There are great doctors everywhere!

DISCOUNT !!!!! How about if you have a better chance of being cured?

Treatment needs coordination between multiple specialists
 

Cancer diagnosis and treatment needs to be a multi-specialty, cohesive approach, in which each step of the process and its timing is a coordinated effort.

Usually, some of the specialties involved are
- the primary doctor or specialist who orders initial diagnostics
- radiologists doing diagnostic imaging, needle biopsies, etc.,
- pathologists,
- surgeons,
- medical oncologist/hematologist (providing chemotherapy & other IV/systemic therapies), and
- radiation oncologists like R. Boussaneault.

Not only is Moffitt "more varied in what it offers", but coordination and timing of the various treatments can be managed from beginning to end over a period of weeks, months or years with the same dr. or team at the helm.

I don't doubt that RBOI does a good job in the radiation therapy portion of treatment IF radiation is deemed needed and appropriate by the dr./team in charge of one's overall treatment plan.

But, I hope newly diagnosed cancer patients get a consult with a medical oncologist/hematologist or oncology surgeon first, or a multi-specialty team at a Comprehensive Cancer Center like Moffitt.

Otherwise, the ball can easily be dropped in finding a dr. in each of the various specialties involved and then in trying to get a timely appointment for consult and then treatment with each of them.

When all h*ll breaks loose upon diagnosis, you're totally overwhelmed, and the only word you can hear is "cancer, cancer, cancer" while scientific information is flooding at you from all sides, it is essential to have a medical oncologist/hematologist or team at the helm, coordinating and overseeing each step of the treatment plan they design, implement, or possibly change course in.

From reading that newspaper ad, I fear unknowing patients might focus on only one portion of treatment possiblyneeded (radiation therapy), without enough focus on the overall, multi-specialist picture and care.

We were just discussing this at lunch
 

I had lunch yesterday with a women who was treated at the center other than Mofit. She said she was very well treated and got the radiation which her doctor ordered. She spoke highly of the center. I was not aware we already had another treatment center with exactly the same kind of equiptment. The whole situation seems quite odd.

Not for monopolies
 

It's not odd at all for a cluster of cities to have more than one physician-owned, for-profit private practice clinic having the same high-tech equipment as the major hospitals in town.

It's no different than a city having multiple physician-owned eye surgery centers equipped to do laser or other high-tech eye surgeries, while the non-profit hospitals in town offer the same services and technology.

They compete, and in a free-enterprise system, competition causes providers to constantly improve their skills and technology to attract more patients.

Many people decry physician-owned, for-profit hospitals and clinics like the one in the ad, because of where the profits go (into investors' personal income). Non-profit centers like Moffitt reinvest "profits" back into the clinical services/facilities offered.

In this case, the physician-owned, for-profit radiation clinic dislikes its new competition and took out the full-page ad again today to portray it as "needless". But I don't think PATIENTS consider it needless to have more than one choice of hospital or treatment centers, instead of a monopoly.

To the contrary, I think a lot of people prefer to use non-profit hospitals and clinics that are funded by community foundations that are held accountable to their donors-patients.

If a physician-owned clinic/hospital has no competition, they can do lots of things a monopoly can, like up-selling more than is necessary; raise prices as much as their self-pay patients are willing to bear; or they can decide to put profits into investors' own pockets instead of investing in upgrading their skills, equipment and facilities as a non-profit hospital is required to do.

I'm not saying that this particular radiation clinic ("institute") is not good nor that it rips people off. I'm just saying that a monopoly makes that more possible.

Well stated LuvItHere!

I don't understand the confusion this topic seems to bring on. Nobody seems to question why the Hospital (TVRH) has over 700 volunteers. It is expected that not for profit centers (especially medical ones) need the help of the community to prosper. Since none of your money is going to this venture unless you donate then why all the concern? If it was announced that the Cleveland Clinic was opening a satellite hospital in TV and needed volunteers and benefactors, there would be nothing but praise for how our community was moving up in the world of health care. Why should a well respected cancer center be any different?

I still think the distrust that seems to be shown on this forum for Moffitt is a general mistrust of the Morse family. To me the Moffitt center addition is no more a part of Morse Inc. than was Wal-Mart (when we already had a Target) or Bonefish (when we already had Red Lobster) etc. Companies of all types realize the great potential in our huge older adult population. If you have a service you bring it to where the consumers are!

World-class treatment
 

Mentioning Cleveland Clinic as an example is a good one here, on the topic of Moffitt coming here. Heads of state from around the world choose Cleveland Clinic for their cancer and other diagnostics and treatments. . .

. . . But yet, Cleveland Clinic is not among of the 40 "Comprehensive Cancer Centers" designated and accredited by the National Cancer Institute, as Moffitt IS!!!

This speaks volumes as to what a high, above-high level of services/facilities Moffitt offers, and we will have access to it right here in The Villages . . . where we can go on a golf cart in a safe, clean city and not in the depths of urban, dirty, crime-ridden, traffic-bound Cleveland or other such place!!

I only referred to Cleveland Clinic since it was ranked in the top 5 overall health care facilities (and #1 in heart health) in the US. http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings

But your point is well taken.