OREANDA-NEWS.  September 26, 2013. Illinois Cancer Specialists (ICS), united in healing with The US Oncology Network, is pleased to announce that Donald L. Sweet, M.D., F.A.C.P., medical oncologist at ICS, has been named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor for the Hinsdale, Ill., region for 2013.

Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. is a highly regarded healthcare research and information company that identifies top doctors in America and provides consumers with detailed information about physicians. The Top Doctor list is based on an extensive nominating process in which doctors who excel in their specialties are selected by their peers. Their credentials and qualifications are then carefully reviewed and evaluated by a physician-led research team and key personnel who select the honorees. Doctors cannot pay to be included on a Castle Connolly Top Doctors® list, and those who provide their input are not compensated.

"We congratulate Dr. Sweet on being named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor for the Hinsdale region," said David Hakimian,  M.D., medical oncologist, hematologist and practice president, Illinois Cancer Specialists. "Being recognized as an expert in the field by his respected peers is a great achievement and one that is well deserved. Dr. Sweet has dedicated his entire adult life to helping cancer patients through his research and compassionate care, and we are privileged to have this highly skilled physician be a valued member of our practice."

Dr. Sweet graduated from the University of Wisconsin and received his medical degree from Marquette University. He completed his post-graduate education in Internal Medicine and Hematology/Oncology at the University of Chicago where he subsequently served on the Medical School Faculty. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Sweet has published nearly one hundred scientific articles and book chapters throughout his career, and he was named a Fellow of the American College of Physicians in recognition of his published cancer research. While at the University of Chicago, he was designated an American Cancer Society Fellow.

Dr. Sweet's contributions to the cancer community have been acknowledged by many organizations during his career. He was named a Top Doctor by Chicago Consumers' CHECKBOOK, and he has been recognized as a Patient's Choice Physician by Vitals.com. He has also received the Physician Leadership Medallion award from Hinsdale Hospital where he currently serves as Director of the hospital's Cancer Center.

The extensive nominating process for Castle Connolly's Top Doctors™ lists results in nearly 100,000 physician nominees each year. Board-certified physicians nominate other doctors whom they feel are the most outstanding in their medical specialties, in any area of medicine and in any part of the country. Physicians cannot nominate themselves. In addition to peer nominations, a physician-led research team also makes thousands of phone calls each year to leading specialists, chairs of clinical departments and others involved in healthcare, gathering further information regarding the top specialists for various diseases and procedures.

The physician-led team then carefully reviews the credentials of every physician being considered for a Top Doctors list. The review includes scrutiny of medical education, training, board certifications, hospital appointments, administrative posts, professional achievements and malpractice and disciplinary history, among other factors. This team, along with other key personnel, then makes the final determination on which doctors will be included on the list. Less than 5% of the nation's licensed physicians have been recognized as Castle Connolly Top Doctors for their specialties in their regions, making Dr. Sweet's achievement worthy of recognition.

In addition to Dr. Sweet, several other physicians with the Illinois Cancer Specialists Hinsdale location have previously been named Top Doctors by Castle Connolly including Patricia Madej, M.D., Christine Winter, M.D., F.A.C.P., and Elyse Schneiderman, M.D.