Texas Oncology

This place is phenomenal — state of the art!
Staff is so helpful & patient.
Parking is good.
Restaurant & coffee shop on 2^nd floor.
This place connects directly to all areas of Baylor Hospital without going outdoors.
Love our docs!

I love just about everything in the Sammons Cancer. Center, but the radiation center needs some better management. The oncologists and nurses are personable and professional. But other issues make life a bit difficult for the patients. In fact, the radiation center probably isn’t even aware of these issues.
Let’s start with parking. The radiation center has about eight reserved parking spots. Good. That’s enough to cover patients in at any given time. Or WOULD be enough if the valet didn’t steal those spaces on a regular basis. They even stole the sign. The problem with that? When an oncology patient uses the spot, we’re there for 15 – 30 minutes, leaving the space for the next patient in line. When the valet takes a spot, that car remains there for several hours, preventing other patients from getting their turn. That’s an unnecessary burden for patients suffering from radiation fatigue. Ironically, the valet has plenty of open spaces, clearly labeled for valet! They don’t need to steal patient spaces!
The next issue has to do with the dressing rooms. One of my pet peeves is when someone brings several members of their extended family with them to any medical appointment. Is that really necessary? And why do you bring them to the dressing rooms? We have to leave our personal belongings in this area. The more people, the less secure the area is. Plus, what’s with all the men in the clearly labeled Women’s Dressing Room, and vice versa? I totally accept a spouse who comes in to help a patient known to be a fall risk, or something like that. I have no problem with that. But everyone else really has no reason not to wait out in the waiting room or the beautiful building lobby.
And unfortunately, I’m not entirely convinced that all the radiation techs know what they’re doing. I’ve had to remind them «This side, not that side.» And at least twice they placed the bolus material in the wrong place. Admittedly, the person making those mistakes was clearly in training, but here’s the point: when you’re doing something as serious as radiation, you absolutely, positively must get it right. I think there should be someone extremely skilled supervising every single session. Maybe there is, and I’m just not aware of it. But overall, they didn’t inspire much confidence. I pray every day I go in there, «Lord, help them get it right.» Most of them are wonderful, but occasionally a new face gives me serious doubts.
I was also deeply disappointed that when I asked, repeatedly, neither the doctor nor the nurse would show me, exactly, where I would be radiated. I wanted them to point to the area, but they gave me only vague responses: «the area on this side» (duh), «the lymph nodes» (which ones? Where?). I had to wait until I got the burns to see exactly where I was being radiated, and the area that received «scatter» radiation, collateral damage as it were. That should have been made absolutely clear to a patient ahead of time. The «keep the patient in ignorance and just let us handle it» approach is very outdated. And insulting.
On the bright side, everyone seems pretty pleased with the center and their treatments. But there is sure room for improvement, especially with the younger generations who expect to be part of their treatment plans and decisions.