Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) is a privately-owned, for-profit company that operates hospitals and outpatient oncology clinics. CTCA has three hospitals in the United States: Midwestern Regional Medical Center, located in Zion, Illinois; Southwestern Regional Medical Center, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Eastern Regional Medical Center, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. An outpatient oncology clinic, Seattle Cancer Treatment and Wellness Center, is located in Seattle, Washington. Construction has started on a fourth hospital, Western Regional Medical Center, to be located in Goodyear, Arizona, which is scheduled to open in early 2009.
CTCA was founded in 1988 by Richard J Stephenson after his mother lost her battle with cancer. Stephenson was unsatisfied with the treatment options available to his mother and opened the first CTCA hospital with the mission of changing the face of cancer The first hospital to open was Midwestern Regional Medical Center in northern Illinois.
FDA-approved, traditional cancer treatments such as surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and stem cell transplants are offered at CTCA . Nutritional support, naturopathic medicine, mind-body medicine, spiritual counseling, and other complementary and alternative therapies are also available. CTCA promotes a model of integrating traditional treatments with complementary therapies.
CTCA advertises itself as the home of integrative and compassionate cancer care under the motto:
"We never stop searching for and providing powerful and innovative therapies to heal the whole person, improve quality of life and restore hope.
Each CTCA hospital is accredited with The Gold Seal of Approval™ by The Joint Commission. The laboratories in each hospital are accredited by the College of American Pathologists. Both Midwestern Regional Medical Center and Southwestern Regional Medical Center have been awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC) for Community Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Programs.