MD Anderson Main Building — Local services in Houston

We spent 7 months at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston last year while my hubby was being treated for acute myeloid leukemia. The moment we arrived, until the moment we departed, was a remarkable experience. This is truly where God sends his angels to work!

Our arrival started with getting lost because the campus was so huge and we were so stressed. Arriving late at night, hubby called them to get directions. The lady answering the phone patiently stayed on our call the entire time, while we left one garage, travelled to the appropriate one, got parked, and walked into the ER. She never knew how much that meant to us. What we learned throughout the 7-month ordeal is that this would be the norm - the standard of care my hubby would receive.

We were told by the staff that the ER is always packed, but that night, we were their only customer! The staff was quick to take the assessment and get the testing started. They took such great care to ensure we were comfortable while they arranged admittance and transport to the leukemia ward.

A team of nurses and techs were anxiously waiting, and with great precision, professionalism, caring, and compassion, hubby was reassessed and settled into his spacious room. A comfortable pullout couch with pillows and warmed blankets were given to me also.

Dr. Maiti, hubby's leukemia doctor, visited first thing that morning and each morning thereafter during our initial stay. I thought he'd get tired of me asking the same questions over and over again while I tried to process the information but he never did! Dr. Maiti also visited many times afterwards when hubby was readmitted for infections prior to receiving his stem cell transplant. He and the other leukemia doctors and supporting staff were always quick to assess and handle all issues that arose and to give us the hope and confidence we needed to press on.

Four months later, hubby was moved to the stem cell group with Dr. Al-Atrash as his primary doctor. We had to say goodbye to Dr. Maiti and his staff and it was very hard as we had grown quite attached to them. Dr. Al-Atrash and his outstanding team never skipped a beat and picked up right where Dr. Maiti left off. What was most impressive about Dr. Al-Atrash and his team, besides the professionalism and compassion, was their honesty and commitment - they told it like it was, told us what to expect, and what they expected from us (e.g., commitment for both of us to stay within 15 minutes of MD Anderson at all times for 100 days after transplant). Because of the high potential for reinfection which could jeopardize the transplant, hubby was admitted to the stem cell ward early. What an impressive group of individuals - their care, compassion, professionalism, humor, kindness, and love were always evident. We went through the hurricane with them and what an experience! How they were so committed to their patients and jobs above all else was rewarding, gratifying, and awe-inspiring.

We are extremely thankful that MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, was recommended to us for hubby's treatment. It is truly the best...

I just got a message today asking me to echeck in for an 11:30am virtual appt on 1/10/2024. Great. Accept my appt was originally scheduled for 3:30pm. I was not consulted on this time change. This is the fourth time the scheduling department has screwed me over. My first appt was rescheduled to be w/a nurse practitioner (not the doctor) without my knowledge because scheduling had lost my test results. My time was wasted with an appt with a nurse practitioner that was absolutely unhelpful unable to answer any of my questions. At my next appt, the doctor told me that scheduling got it wrong and scheduled me with the wrong department. Again, waste is my time and money. My scheduled appt time was changed last minute without my knowledge. I didn’t find out until the nurse called me to go over some information. She caught me in between meetings so I was able to do the appt at the new time. Now my 3:30pm virtual appt for 1/10/2024 has been rescheduled to 11:30am. Again, without my knowledge. How am I supposed to schedule an appt and the rest of my life when their scheduling team keeps screwing up so many times? My healthcare is being compromised. The only reason I have not given up on MDA is because the doctors are not the issue. It’s the scheduling staff that is the problem. But I have learned over the past almost 3 decades I have been traversing the medical semi-care world that any practice is only as good as its front and back office. Doesn’t matter how good a doctor is. If front desk can’t schedule you right or if back office can’t get prior authorizations done or any other paper work that needs to be done, the patient doesn’t get...

So it’s been some time, but I’m ready to share our story at MD Anderson Cancer Center. They are known as the best of the best… honestly, 99% of facilities can render the NCCN Standard of Care. We chose MDA due to mother’s extremely rare form of leukemia.

At first things were going well, until they weren’t. After the second stem cell transplant, she developed a fungal lung infection. Overnight you could see the physician team were ready to wipe their hands.

At seventy days inpatient, they took advantage of my father who stayed in-room the entire time. They referred to it as “comfort care” when in reality it was palliative care. They did not explain they were ceasing intervention.

The attitude of the nurses and physicians changed once we realized the sham they had pulled. I ended up having to record interactions with the care team due to the constant lies.

A ED Physician came in the room screaming at my father at 3am “She’s dying and you’re over there sleeping!” The monitors were not being monitored at the nursing station, which resulted my mother going into full pulmonary arrest. A night custodian actually discovered this event.

We had the organ harvest team visit multiple times, even after saying no, for a signature to study the organs. They said it could be six to nine months for the body to be returned.

We would not recommend this money hungry corporation to anyone, unless they are the only location for a clinical trial. Read actual patient reviews and look past the cute commercials.

For the record, they billed insurance $158k, per night, for room and board. This did not include medications, diagnostics, or...