At Rush, we’re committed to providing comprehensive, individualized cancer care through the Rush University Cancer Center. We’re also committed to sharing quality data on our cancer care and to continuing to add further measures of quality in the future. Below, we’ve included cancer mortality data and volumes (or the number of cancer cases seen at Rush).

Mortality rate

Mortality (or death) rates by service tell us how many patients die relative to what is expected, given a variety of complicating characteristics, including their age, chronic conditions like diabetes or heart failure, or whether the patient was transferred from another hospital or admitted as an emergency. These measures are reported by the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), an alliance of academic medical centers and their affiliated hospitals representing approximately 90 percent of the nation's not-for-profit academic medical centers. Learn more about how these rates are calculated.

Bone marrow transplant mortality (death)

This measurement shows among bone marrow transplant patients, 3 percent fewer patients died in the hospital than predicted based on how sick they were.

Because some hospitals, such as academic medical centers like Rush, tend to take care of significantly sicker patients, the observed-to-expected rate of mortality (or death) is adjusted to take into account how sick patients were before being admitted to the hospital. This rate is then referred to as risk adjusted.

The lower the rate on this measure, the better. For this measure, Rush scores better than expected.

Volumes

Volumes data for individual procedures or groups of procedures can offer a perspective on the amount of experience a particular doctor or hospital has with a specific illness, condition or procedure. By itself, volume — the number of cases seen or surgeries performed — does not provide you with a full picture of a doctor’s or hospital’s quality; rather, it should be combined with outcomes measures (like mortality) to gain a more complete understanding of quality.

Breast cancer case volumes

This measurement shows the number of breast cancer cases treated at Rush from 2006 to 2010. These numbers include both inpatient and outpatient data, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments.

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Endocrine cancer case volumes

This measurement shows the number of endocrine cancer cases treated at Rush from 2006 to 2010. These numbers include both inpatient and outpatient data, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments.

This category includes thyroid and other endocrine (such as thymus) cancers.

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Eye and orbit cancer case volumes

This measurement shows the number of endocrine cancer cases treated at Rush from 2006 to 2010. These numbers include both inpatient and outpatient data, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments.

This category includes eye and orbit cancers.

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Gastrointestinal cancer case volumes

This measurement shows the number of gastrointestinal cancer cases treated at Rush from 2006 to 2010. These numbers include both inpatient and outpatient data, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments.

This category includes cancers of the colon, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, rectosigmoid junction, rectum, anus, anal canal, anorectum, liver, intrahepatic bile duct, gallbladder and other biliary tract, pancreas, retroperitoneum, peritoneum, omentum, mesentery and other parts of the gastrointestinal system.

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Genitourinary cancer case volumes

This measurement shows the number of genitourinary cancer cases treated at Rush from 2006 to 2010. These numbers include both inpatient and outpatient data, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments.

This category includes cancers of the prostate, testis, urinary bladder, kidney, renal pelvis, ureter and other urinary organs.

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Gynecologic oncology case volumes

This measurement shows the number of gynecologic oncology cases treated at Rush from 2006 to 2010. These numbers include both inpatient and outpatient data, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments.

This category includes cancers of the cervix uteri (excluding carcinoma in situ), corpus and uterus (not otherwise specified), ovary, vagina, vulva and other female genital organs.

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Head and neck cancer case volumes

This measurement shows the number of head and neck cancer cases treated at Rush from 2006 to 2010. These numbers include both inpatient and outpatient data, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments.

This category includes cancers of the lip, tongue, salivary glands, floor of the mouth, gums, larynx, nasopharynx, oropharynx, hypopharynx, nasal cavity, middle ear, accessory sinuses, tonsils and other areas of the mouth.

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Hematologic malignancy case volumes

This measurement shows the number of hematologic malignancy (blood cancer) cases treated at Rush from 2006 to 2010. These numbers include both inpatient and outpatient data, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments.

This category includes Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphomas, multiple myelomas and leukemias.

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Lung cancer case volumes

This measurement shows the number of lung cancer cases treated at Rush from 2006 to 2010. These numbers include both inpatient and outpatient data, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments.

This category includes cancers of the lungs, bronchus, trachea, mediastinum and other respiratory organs.

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Melanoma and cutaneous oncology case volumes

This measurement shows the number of melanoma and cutaneous oncology cases treated at Rush from 2006 to 2010. These numbers include both inpatient and outpatient data, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments.

This category includes cancers of the skin (excluding basal and squamous cell carcinomas).

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Neuro-oncology case volumes

This measurement shows the number of neuro-oncology cases treated at Rush from 2006 to 2010. These numbers include both inpatient and outpatient data, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments.

This category includes cancers of the brain and other parts of the nervous system.

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Sarcoma and soft tissue tumors case volumes

This measurement shows the number of sarcomas and soft tissue tumor cases treated at Rush from 2006 to 2010. These numbers include both inpatient and outpatient data, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments.

This category includes cancers of the bones, joints and soft tissues.

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