U.S. Cancer-Care Delivery is 'In Crisis': Report

Cancer treatment has grown so complex, many U.S. doctors can't keep up with new information and are offering incorrect treatment, failing to explain options and leaving patients to coordinate their own care, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences.

The 315-page report, "Delivering High-Quality Cancer Care: Charting a New Course for a System in Crisis," identifies a long list of reasons for the crisis, including a growing demand for cancer care as more people receive a diagnosis and a shrinking oncology workforce.

"Probably on average the quality of care is not bad, but we know there are people who are not getting the (highest) standard of care," said Dr Patricia Ganz, who chaired the institute's panel that wrote the report and is a professor at the Schools of Medicine and Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles. "Patients need to be asking, Is my doctor giving me appropriate treatment?"

Read the full story here: http://reut.rs/1eDtN8X

Source: Reuters