How to Choose the Best Rectal Cancer Treatment Center
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with rectal cancer, you are not alone. Any cancer diagnosis is overwhelming, and rectal cancer requires care from a team of specialists who work closely together. Choosing where to receive treatment is one of the most important decisions you will make and knowing what to look for can help you feel confident about your choice. See some of our tips on how to find your treatment center below.
Look for an NAPRC Accreditation
The National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC), developed by the American College of Surgeons, sets the highest national standards for rectal cancer programs. NAPRC-accredited centers, including Singing River, meet specific requirements proven to help patients achieve better outcomes.
When a patient chooses an NAPRC-accredited center, they have a ten percent lower risk of mortality and experience fewer permanent colostomies (“The Bag”) associated with abdominoperineal resections (APRs), recurrences, and complications.
Choose a Center with a Team Approach
At an NAPRC-accredited center, rectal cancer care is delivered by a multidisciplinary team that uses modern imaging, standardized surgical techniques, and treatment plans designed specifically for each patient.
At Singing River, your care team includes:
- Radiologists
- Pathologists
- Medical oncologists
- Colorectal surgeons
- Radiation oncologists
- Physical therapists who help you prepare for surgery
- Nutritionists
- Genetic counselors
- Ostomy nurses who are experts in stoma marking and ostomy education
Your Singing River Cancer Center Nurse Navigator will coordinate your appointments, medications, and treatments, making sure you always know what comes next and have the support you need.
Stay Close to Home
All NAPRC accredited centers follow the same evidence-based standards for rectal cancer treatment. If you live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, you can receive this level of care right here at home without traveling to New Orleans, Mobile, or Houston.
Singing River’s program is designed to guide patients through every step of treatment while reducing the financial and emotional stress that comes with traveling for care.
- Your support system stays close. Being treated near home means your family, friends, and community can support you when you need them most.
- Long drives to distant hospitals take time and energy. Staying local allows you to stress less and focus on your recovery.
- Singing River offers free patient transportation services to help you get to and from appointments safely and on time.
- Patients who receive care close to home are more likely to attend all appointments and complete their full course of treatment.
Get Started
You can access nationally recognized, NAPRC-accredited rectal cancer care right here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. If you’ve been diagnosed with this disease, ask your doctor for a referral to Singing River Cancer Center to join our program.
