Running down a dream.

We all work at Best Cancer Center Ever (BCCE, pronounced “beeshee”), but let’s hypothetically say that men with prostate cancer might want to go elsewhere for radiation. Where do they go? An interesting analysis in the Red Journal of the migratory patterns of over 40,000 English men with prostate cancer shows that ~20% elect to “bypass” the nearest treatment facility. There were two big drivers of patients bypassing to other centers: 1) living in a highly competitive area with multiple centers available within a small distance and 2) selecting centers offering hypofractionated therapy (i.e., fewer total treatments). Longer travel time generally discouraged “bypassing,” probably because the English ride a lot of bicycles. So if you’re the only game in town, beam on. But within competitive areas, there were big “winner” and “loser” facilities that treated hundreds more or less patients each year than expected. So if you’re practicing in a metropolis, offering hypofractionated options will likely help you keep and/or attract patients. You could also try Groupon.