Virginia Cancer Institute

"If I could give a zero, I would. They don’t care about their patients. They only care about themselves. Horrible horrible care. I was a patient here for several years for iron infusions. During one of my iron infusions my vein blew. The contrast started to go into my arm. I informed the nurse about it, but they did not change my IV site. The fluid then went into the surrounding soft tissue. Iron is brown. And it stains. as a result, I ended up with a very large 4 to 5 inch long stain on my arm at my next doctors appointment I brought it to the attention of Dr. Freeman. I told her what happened and asked if there was anything to do to help remove the stain. She offered support and told me that they would help assist if I needed to go to see a dermatologist to get it taken care of. Within a few days I got a phone call from a lawyer, they wanted me to sign off, saying that they were at no fault and that I would not say anything about the situation that happened. They offered bribe money so that I wouldn’t speak about the instance. I declined to take their money because the clinic was at fault for what happened And I wasn’t even upset about it. I was just asking for some assistance. They became very threatening and dismissed me as a patient saying that I could never return to any of their facilities ever again. I was served with papers by a lawyer. I was outraged I did nothing wrong. I didn’t even victimize myself. I was just asking for some support and they came at me attacking me and then denied me services in the Richmond area ever again. I sure hope I don’t ever get cancer. It’s the worst Customer Service one could ever imagine during their healthcare struggles."

"This organization has been a lifesaver for me. They have been so supportive and kind to me during my cancer journey. Everyone saw me as an individual and not just a medical diagnosis. They worked hard to help, even scheduling me in last minute to get any extra supports needed to help me feel better. Dr. Shah and nurse practitioner Gade were especially vital in my journey. They treated me with such compassion, not only attentively addressing my medical needs but also my emotional needs as well. They also were well versed in the needs of the rare cancer I was diagnosed with. The nurses were all so kind and attentive, even adjusting to meet my special needs/requests. If you find yourself unfortunately on a cancer journey, then I highly recommend you come here. It will make a scary, stressful situation less difficult. Thank you all for your care for me!"

"Absolute horrible experience with the female receptionist and their inability to return phone messages! Obviously no one wants to call oncology or hematology to set an appointment. Easily one of the most scariest phone calls or appointments that humans could make. I left two phone messages with no one to return my call. I finally caught them this morning. The femLe(because she failed to give her name), loudly and very rudely told me, “ YOU CANT CALL UP HERE JUST REQUEST A NEW PATIENT APPOINTMENT!! That’s not how this works! SOME PEOPLE WANT TO BE CLOSE TO HOME AND WHATEVER”. I proceeded to explain that I lived less than 10mins from their office. She proceeded to collect my information and then hung up the phone on me. I had to call back 3x and I finally was able to speak with Grady. I guess he took my information and passed it to the intake coordinator and promised that the office manager, Michelle Muhammad would give me a call, but I haven’t heard anything from them. I then called VCU and received amazing customer service and they definitely showed compassion. It’s bad enough that people have to make these appointments. But then to be berated by the receptionist is a different ball game."

"Have been going here over a year now, taking iron shots and some infusions trying to get my iron levels up for a surgery that I need. The staff has always greeted me and spoke respectfully. They take your phone calls when there is a reason to change an appointment, and the wait is not long."

"Virginia Cancer Institute (West End location) is a state of the art facility with problem-solving doctors, nurses and support staff who are patient, tactful and kind. Everyone we've encountered has offered great service and care."