cCARE

Dr Jawien has been my husbands oncologist for several months now and while he is very matter of fact we like it better that way. My husband and I recieved his diagnosis from dr Jawien while hospitalized and yes it was very early in the morning, but he answered every single one of our questions and stayed with us until we ended the meeting. He is always warm and genuinely interested in how everything is going. Every single person we see and meet here have been kind and personable. I have nothing bad to say about anyone at this establishment.

I followed my oncologist here from California Cancer Center, for follow-​ups, and have felt like «part of the cattle» ever since then. My feelings were confirmed when I was re-​diagnosed with cancer, and had to deal with the referral staff, of which was not very efficient or knowledgeable in how to deal with referrals. Upon locating a surgeon, I was notified by the staff that they would not do the referral, because they had found one at that point, and even though it was months before I would be seen, I would be ok. According to the staff, waiting about three/​four months to remove the tumor was not as long as it seemed. She was very curt when explaining this to me and even seemed offended that I expected more expedient care, given my financial circumstances and medical coverage. In other words, I should be ever so grateful for whatever care I could access and not expect to be treated so quickly, and that basically my worries were not justified. Sure, just what one wants to hear after being diagnosed. I was finally able to locate a surgeon that would operate on me in a timely manner, and did, fortunately for me, as my tumor had doubled in size, from the date of diagnosis. Imagine if I had just waited and appreciated the staff referral? I have not gone back and unless you have great insurance coverage and/​or deal with Dr. Hager of whom I’m familiar with, you are better off seeking another facility with more competent staff, as when it comes time to procedures or referrals, the competency of the staff in navigating, makes all the difference in the world, for patients with limited time to make life-​threatening decisions.

My husband has been seeing Dr. Hager since 2009. He has a condition that will require him to see this doctor for probably the rest of his life. We have always been very happy with the care he gets at C Care. Dr. Hager is kind, compassionate, explains things thoroughly, and has a great sense of humor. When my husbands illness required a referral for an out of town specialist he did not hesitate to do so immediately. That is a very good sign that you have a good doc who is looking out for the patient and not his ego! We’ve dealt with too many of those! Dr. Hager and his staff have always been there for my husband and all of his needs and we have felt very well cared for.
The office staff is also amazing. We love his nurse, Liz, and NP Irene is very knowledgeable and helpful. The lab techs are great and the infusion nurses definitely do their job well!
Sometimes there is a wait and my husband is not the most patient person. But we understand they are caring for some people who are very sick and things get backed up. Once we get in and the Dr. Is in the room he takes all the time we need and leaves no question in answered.

My husband has cancer and when our radiation oncologist moved his practice to LA we were referred to cCare. It took almost a month to get an appointment because there office was confused about our insurance for some reason. Then when we actually went to our appt we waited for over an hour and when i asked at the front desk about how much longer it would be, we were told that we were supposed to be in the waiting room on the 3^rd floor (which no one told us about when we signed into the front desk intially). So we go upstairs and wait for another 40min and they call us into a room, a nurse takes his vitals and asks us to wait for the DR. We wait in the room for about 20min and a DR with an under study comes in and says that the DR we were supposed to see is not only out of town but will be for about a week. No one mentioned this to us before our appt or offered to reschedule to a time when he would be there. The fill-​in DR knew crap about my husbands history and didnt seem to even read his file. We had to go over our entire health history with him and give names, dates, phone numbers, etc. It was so annoying because he had never even heard of the type of cancer that my husband has and wasnt experienced with sarcomas at all. Then he proceeded to tell us in various ways that my husbands cancer is terminal and that his is for sure going to die from this (we already knew that but surely dont need some jerk spelling it out for us). Then on top of things he suggests that my husband do whole brain radiation not even knowing what his scans look like or if they even show whether or not he had spots on his brain. This guy was so full of himself that he talked about his work history for over 30min. I have never been to a 4hour DR appt consult ever! I understand if it was waiting for chemo or an extensive MRI but seriously 4hrs and to be BS’d by some fill-​in DR who doesnt even read the damn patient files!!! We were so offended that we never went back. We told our oncologist about the whole thing and she was appauled. She apologized for ever sending us there and set us up with a new radiation oncologist who found that my husband did NOT have any new spots on his brain and said that whole brain radiation is a last resport and whoever suggested that was highly unprofessional. I still get worked up thinking about how that DR told my husband over and over that he is definitly going to die soon from his cancer… I mean who does that? what happened to bed side manners or even common decensy??? I would never go back there ever!

Not sure of the negative poster’s circumstances, but our family has had just the total opposite experience. After spending useless time with California Cancer Center and having a horrible experience, my 22 niece asked to be seen by Dr. Hager at Cancer Care Associates.
My niece had a mass in her left jaw. She had surgery to remove the bone and surrounding tissue and replace with one of her leg bones which was sculpted into a jaw bone (incredible stuff!!). Path came back as osteosarcoma. (bone cancer) She was «jerked» around by CCC for months … sent to Stanford … back to CCC … with an oncologist who was sloppy at best and negligent in her patient care. There was an attitude of «well, we could do this», or «we could do that». Nothing concrete. A total lack of caring and interest accompanied this wishy-​washy plan for her life.
Once seen by Dr. Hager at CCA, she is now on road to recovery and getting her life back.
The experience she had in the new office, by caring office staff was a complete 180 from the first experience.
Incredible as it may seem, my sister-​in-​law had nearly the same experiences with CCC and CCA. She is now being seen by a very caring Dr. Jawien. Her prognosis is bleak, but the staff at CCA make her feel cared for and loved. Her issue is brain cancer and she is on a slow decline.

I’ll try to keep this short and to the point so that I don’t become overwhelmed with emotion.
My Mom came here for several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. The staff was always pleasant and helpful. They greeted her by name and made her feel welcome. After some (unfortunate) complications with my Mom’s medical benefits and going nearly 8 months with no medical care, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given 1 – 3 months to live. Dr. Jawien gave her the news while she was hospitalized, alone, at 6am. I should also add that my Mom did not speak English. We scheduled a meeting at the Cancer Care Associates with Dr. Jawien to hear the news from him hoping that my Mom had misunderstood with the language barrier. We (my Dad, Mom and myself) showed up that afternoon after my Mom was discharged from the hospital. Dr. Jawien walked into the room and rudely asked the reason for our visit. I explained. His words were cold. There was no emotion, no feeling, no warmth, no thought, no compassion. Isn’t this where it really counts; where a family needs service, help and compassion? Sadly my Mom had not misunderstood.
She passed away less than 2 months later.

Okay, clearly things are running more smoothly if you don’t have need of an oncologist or radiologist, but the doctors and staff at Cancer Care Associates are the absolute best you could ever hope for.
I’m constantly amazed at the ability of the staff to remember my name; they deal with hundreds (I’m guessing) of people a day… maybe many dozen. Always friendly, very good about scheduling and communicating with you in follow-​up and appointment reminders. They are the best, I feel comfortable around them, and feel lucky that they work there… like my own personal army!
My doctor is Dr. Pad. He is beyond fantastic! I feel he really discusses all the options I’m looking at, why he’s leaning this way or that way, and he’s just one hell of a nice guy too! Also, if he’s unsure of something, say what protocol would be more appropriate, he’ll say so, then go on to say who he’ll consult on this and why they are the best qualified authority in this particular area. How incredibly refreshing; Dr Pad is a kind man with pride, but not a hint of hubris!
Also, depending on your needs, they can do everything in house; radiation, chemo, scans, etc. Very convenient.
If you are in the need of this type of service, please go here!