Stony Brook University Hospital Named Top 5% for Cancer Care Nationwide

For Suffolk County residents facing a cancer diagnosis, the question of where to seek treatment has historically meant weighing whether to travel to Manhattan or settle for something closer. A national ranking released last week narrows that debate: Stony Brook University Hospital placed in the top 5% of U.S. hospitals for cancer care, according to the Women's Choice Award, which evaluates hospitals on clinical outcomes, patient experience, and breadth of services.

The distinction matters locally because SBUH is the only academic medical center in Suffolk County. That status is not symbolic. It means patients can access open clinical trials, physician-scientists conducting active research into cancer's mechanisms, and multidisciplinary tumor boards, all without crossing into Nassau County or boarding a train to the city. The hospital's cancer program fields teams of surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, nurses, and social workers who coordinate treatment from diagnosis through recovery, a model that community hospitals without academic affiliations typically cannot replicate at the same scale.

The Women's Choice Award evaluated hospitals across the country using a methodology that incorporates national performance measures alongside patient-reported experience data. Fewer than one in twenty hospitals met the threshold SBUH cleared.

For patients trying to choose where to go, the most important questions to ask any hospital involve access to clinical trials, whether a dedicated nurse navigator is assigned at intake, and how quickly a new-patient appointment can be scheduled. At Stony Brook Cancer Center, American Cancer Society patient navigators, who are themselves cancer survivors, are available to help patients move through the system. To reach the navigator program, call (631) 638-1000.

Patients weighing SBUH against nearby alternatives have two principal competitors. NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island, in Mineola, operates the Perlmutter Cancer Center and also offers clinical trial access, including CyberKnife radiosurgery. Northwell Health's cancer network spans multiple Long Island sites, including the R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Center at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Neither of those systems has an academic medical center physically situated within Suffolk County's borders, which means SBUH retains a proximity advantage for eastern and central Suffolk patients measuring drive times against treatment frequency.

Stony Brook Cancer Center also runs a Mobile Mammography Van that travels year-round to locations across Suffolk and Nassau counties, targeting women 40 and older who may lack convenient access to screening facilities. That outreach component reflects a stated center mission of reaching underserved communities, not just patients who already know where to go.

HOW TO ACCESS CARE AT STONY BROOK CANCER CENTER

The Cancer Center is located on Lauterbur Drive in Stony Brook, NY 11794. To schedule an appointment or ask about services, call (631) SB-CANCER, which is (631) 722-2623. Most patients arrive through a primary care referral, but self-referrals are accepted; ask your insurer to confirm in-network status before scheduling. A dedicated Financial Navigation Team, available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Lauterbur Drive location, can help with insurance coverage questions, identify grants, and connect patients with cost-offset programs. Services are available in Spanish. For clinical trial eligibility, the main (631) 722-2623 line can route patients to the research coordination team. Transportation assistance for patients in active treatment is also available through the center's patient support program; ask about it at intake or through the navigator line at (631) 638-1000.