I have many friends who work in labs, are now med students, etc. in the Houston Med Center/MDA area. They certainly do a great job and I have great respect for them.
My mom is currently in treatment at Dana-Farber/BWH in Boston for rare low-grade neuroendocrine tumors in her lung and liver (it's a weird disease in that its not as it sounds, that is to say that her life expectancy is measured in years not months unlike most cancers that have metastisized like that). But yeah, she's only 54 and should be passing away in 30-40 years, not 3-4, so fuck cancer.
I had a family friend who was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer with a bad prognosis. Treatment began at Dana-Farber, but when first-line was unsuccessful, they went for a second opinion at M.D. Anderson. The Dr. at M.D. Anderson essentially gave the same advice for second-line as the doctor's at DF. Not liking this advice, the patient than sought a third opinion at UCLA, another very highly rated cancer center. Again, same advice. Not liking this advice, they went the homeopathic route and the guy was dead in a few months, vs. a few years he could've maybe had if the second-line had been effective.
The reason I say this is that for most cancers, if you are treated at a top 10 cancer center, all the doctors have access to the same approved treatments, clinical trials, and surgical expertise necessary to get you the best care. I really do think there is something to be said for being able to stay close to home, around your family, etc while you're going through a tough time.
If you live in Houston and you don't get the news you want at MDA, don't expect moving to NYC and going to Sloan-Kettering to be a magic bullet.
Where it really does matter though is podunk hospital oncologist who handles all kinds of cancers vs. specialty oncologist at a research hospital.
My $.02.