COLON CANCER

Fox Chase Cancer Center
With a U.S. News & World Report ranking of 11th in the country for cancer, the 100-bed center treats nothing but cancer, and prides itself on offering patients technology-driven treatment delivered by quality physicians in their chosen sub-specialties. Its investigators have won some of the leading awards in medicine, including the Nobel and Lasker prizes. Fox Chase is a leader in risk-assessment programs for melanoma, GI and prostate cancers, and for women with family histories of breast and ovarian cancer. For gastrointestinal cancers, they offer minimally invasive, laparoscopic surgical options (333 Cottman Avenue, 888-FOX CHASE).

Abramson Cancer Center
UPHS’s big-umbrella, with its number 29 slot in U.S. News, has 200 clinical trials available to patients at any given time, supported by a whopping $200 million in federal grants. The Living Well After Cancer program — funded by Lance Armstrong’s LIVESTRONG Survivorship Center of Excellence Network — supports counseling and research to help patients live longer and better lives. For colon cancer specifically, they offer a gastrointestinal risk evaluation program, nutritional support, and conservative surgical options (3400 Spruce Street, 800-789-PENN).

Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Hospital
The 150 physicians and scientists at the Kimmel Cancer Center are discovering and developing novel approaches to cancer treatment while trying to better understand the way the disease behaves. Toward this end, they conduct more than 100 clinical trials a year and manage 20 institutions in the area in the cancer-care business. The colorectal cancer section is finalizing data from a National Cancer Institute study to determine if a blood test for the protein that causes traveler’s diarrhea could lead to an accurate picture of the extent and progress of colon and rectal cancers. Moreover, current clinical trials are testing the effectiveness of a variety of different treatment combinations for colon cancer. Kimmel bridges mainstream medicine with alternative and complementary therapies through the hospital’s integrative medicine program, and the busy radiation oncology center offers all the latest modalities (233 South 10th Street, 800-JEFF-NOW).