MD Anderson Cancer Center - Houston, Texas

Justin N.

Very experienced Doctors and Nursing staff. Staff very friendly and helpful. They have Volunteers willing to help navigate the center which was helpful. I see why it’s considered the best cancer center in the world. Traveling from Charlotte NC to receive the best treatment for my wife.

Kash S.

I watched my Dad die at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. It was awful. I wanted to share a bit about the experience in hopes that other people can have better experiences.
MD Anderson touts itself as “the Best Cancer Center in the World.” But it is not.

Dad was failed by Dr. Ashish Kamat and his entire team. Worst of all by his PA, Robert Ramage. I implore other families to think twice before entrusting your loved ones to this team’s care.

But there were others who are culpable. The entire culture of this hospital is “cancerous.”

Over an agonizing year of treatment and mistreatment, a catastrophic failure in care at the hands of MD Anderson cost my Dad his life. That failure began in November of 2023, and culminated with Dad’s shocking death in a cramped, post-opp room on the 5th floor of your Oncology building, just a few weeks short of his birthday. Dad would have been 79 this past New Years Day.

Dad deserved so much better. He truly was the most likeable, loveable person.

Dad’s death was an ugly scene. Something I don’t wish on anyone. Watching someone you love suddenly taken from you is traumatic enough. But compounding that pain by witnessing a complete breakdown in procedure, a complete deficit of know-how, and a complete absence of urgency from the MD Anderson Staff was unconscionable.

The lack of training, professionalism, and empathy on display at MD Anderson that Tuesday morning was shocking. And heartbreaking. But it was consistent with that my Dad and our family experienced over the past 12 months.

I wrote a letter to Peter Pisters, which you can find at a new website my family and I created, called patientsforchange.com. Please read it and please help us do all we can to ensure every patient is treated like family.

Sending prayers and love to you all. 🙏❤️

Barb M.

I’ve been going to MD Anderson since my first surgery bin 2017. Five surgeries and almost 8 years later, I still feel like they are the best and have always taken great care of me. I highly recommend this excellent medical center!

Rick S.

My dad recently passed away while under the care of MD Anderson. He was diagnosed with bladder cancer a little over a year ago and had his bladder removed, which means he needed a urostomy bag. Even though that can seriously impact someone's quality of life, my dad was always in good spirits and didn't let it bother him.

About a year later, a mass was discovered near his colon. The doctors and PA's at MD Anderson took a biopsy and said the results showed no cancerous cells. Turns out they didn't do the procedure correctly and only tested one side of the mass. When they took another biopsy, they discovered that it was indeed cancerous. But we lost a couple weeks in that process. If they had done their jobs correctly, they would've found it sooner.

My dad sent multiple messages through myChart complaining of pain and asking to see the actual doctor, but was ignored and dismissed by the PA assigned to him over and over again, losing valuable time for treatment. It took over a month from the time the cancer was discovered to when he actually got an appointment to see someone, and it still wasn't the doctor. What kind of hospital would delay the treatment of cancer for that long!? Especially "the best cancer center in the world".

The mass continued to cause pain and grow abnormally fast (from 4cm to 12cm in 1 week) for my dad for weeks and no one there seemed to care. He had 1 chemo treatment, which would've been delayed 3 weeks had it not been for my family demanding to have it moved up. Some side effects of that chemo caused him to be rushed to the ER, where they kept him overnight. They then said he needed an enema, which did nothing to help his situation because the mass was pinching his colon closed. In fact, it made everything worse because it caused serious distention in his stomach, which obviously caused even more pain, and they needed to perform an emergency colostomy to relieve the gas build up.

This meant my dad now had a urostomy bag AND a colostomy bag! Pretty rare to have both. But even still, my dad remained in good spirits and even joked about it. The next morning, was when everything went to sh"t. They asked him to stand up and walk around the room, but within a minute, he collapsed. And he never got back up. My brother witnessed the whole thing. They emergency team on staff took there sweet ass time to get there, over 10 minutes!! And weren't able to revive him. Again, a hospital of this caliber should have more of a sense of urgency, but they didn't care. He died on Tuesday, December 3, 2024.

I saw him laying there, lifeless. It was the worst day of my life. I'll never forget it.

My dad was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and brother. He was an engineer by trade, but also an artist, singer, writer, handyman, car enthusiast, movie buff, and just an amazing man that the world was lucky enough to experience.

MD Anderson has ads on TV and radio touting themselves as having the most compassionate staff and great communication between departments...all bullshit*t. No one knows what the other dept is doing and they must all be immune to the struggles of their patients because they just don't care. At least not enough to save their lives. And on top of all that, they charge hundreds of thousands of dollars for sub-par treatment.

They need to be held accountable for their lack of care and treatment for their patients. Something needs to be done to correct this flawed healthcare system. Not just at MD but all over the country. My family is trying to help correct this system. And if anyone else out there has had a similar story, I hope that you'll join us.

Love you so much Dad. Miss you everyday ❤️❤️❤️

Seema A.

On 3rd Dec, 2024 my brother passed away due to an unforgivable failure in care, the blatant negligence and refusal to provide the necessary medical attention by the medical staff of MD Anderson.

I feel compelled to share my family’s devastating experience with MD Anderson in hopes that no other family will have to endure the pain and heartbreak that we’ve suffered. We trusted MD Anderson and what should have been a place of healing became a nightmare when errors and a lack of urgency led to a series of preventable complications. Despite clear signs that my brother needed urgent attention , doctors and staff of MD Anderson failed to act swiftly and appropriately and our requests for urgent help and prompt action fell on deaf ears with little regard for my brothers well being. Simple protocols were ignored resulting in his untimely passing.

What makes this even harder to accept is the fact that, had the hospital taken the necessary steps or followed the right procedures, my brother might still be with us today. Instead, we are left with an irreplaceable loss and unanswered questions. The hospital's indifference to the situation and their refusal to take full responsibility has only added to our grief.

It is difficult to find words for how heartbroken and betrayed we feel. I would strongly advise anyone considering MD Anderson for care to think twice. No one should ever be subjected to this level of negligence and lack of empathy. This is not a place you can trust with the life of a loved one. My heart breaks for anyone who goes through the same experience at this hospital. I strongly advise seeking care elsewhere, where your loved ones’ health and dignity will be treated with the respect they deserve.
I can only hope that the hospital acknowledges the damage they’ve caused and takes accountability for the devastating consequences of their actions. My brother deserved better.

Aerials K. H.

Lovely place. My family members have been receiving treatment and services. The staff and Doctors do go above and beyond. Thank you so so much. My Aunt was so proud of her Doctor and the staff in Hospice. She left us beautiful and smiling. Thank you .

Myra S.

Unfortunately our family had a horrible experience with MD Anderson in 2024 . My father in law’s untimely death was due to their negligence. Specifically, Dr. Kamat’s staff came across as apathetic, uncaring and unresponsive. They made several errors (including a technical error on his biopsy) and repeatedly ignored his messages that led to a delay in treatment, and then another mistake post-op which eventually led to his death. My brother in law wrote detailed letter to the CEO outlining these grievances. It’s been a month, and still no response. We expected more from the supposed “best cancer center in the world”. Please think twice before sending your loved ones here.

Allison S.

MD Anderson calls themselves the best in the world. Our family knows for a fact that this couldn’t be further from the truth. My father in law died in a post-op room at MD Anderson after several grueling months of improper diagnoses, delayed care, and complete lack of access and communication to and from his doctor. The clinical errors alone should be enough to stop anyone from ever trusting this institution with their life - but these medical mistakes were compounded by a callousness that should never exist within healthcare. We learned in the most painful way possible that MD Anderson’s patient care is abysmal. If someone you love has cancer, please do not send them here.

Dad was battling bladder cancer, and had his bladder removed a year prior by Dr. Ashish Kamat. That surgery ultimately failed, and recurrence was detected on his quarterly scan. After this was identified, there was no communication at all from Dad’s doctor. No follow-up, no sense of urgency to find out why the cancer was back and how to treat it. Biopsies were delayed, performed incorrectly, and interpreted wrongly. Dad and several members of our family had to beg for appointments, for test results, and for treatment to begin. In total, it took over a month for Dad to even speak to a physician once his cancer recurrence had been identified. It took 6 weeks for him to receive one dose of chemo. By the time treatment began after these horrendous delays, Dad’s cancer had invaded his colon. He was forced to undergo an emergency colostomy, resulting in a blood clot which ultimately cost him his life. The rapid response team took 10 minutes to show up at his bedside. By the time they arrived, Dad was already gone. Failure at every single step.

Dad’s care was not being managed by an MD Anderson doctor. It was being managed by a Physician Assistant named Robert Ramage. Robert would ignore Dad’s MyChart messages for days and weeks at a time. He told Dad at one point, after incorrectly interpreting a biopsy, that he didn’t even have cancer and should follow up with GI. When Dad was in pain, he told him to go to the ER. When Dad begged for an earlier appointment to please speak with his doctor, he told him he had “no control” over scheduling and he’d have to wait. While he waited, his tumor grew to 12 centimeters without treatment. Every aspect of Dad’s care was outsourced to someone other than his actual physician. This is what cost him his life. This is what you get at the “prestigious” MD Anderson.

If someone you love has cancer, please don’t send them to MD Anderson. Don’t fall for the fancy billboards and the trumped-up awards. Find a treatment center that truly prioritizes patient care. Not research, not awards. Find a hospital where you can be treated correctly, quickly, and by an actual physician. You will not find that at MD Anderson.