Read The Letter

Download a copy of the letter Kash Shaikh sent to MD Anderson Cancer Center’s CEO, Peter Pisters, on January 12th, 2025, regarding the failure in care of his father, Zahid Shaikh. Pisters has not responded. Please share this letter with your friends and community.

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3.7
Based on 558 reviews
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Chanda W.
14:05 13 Oct 25
My Mother was a patient at MD Anderson for two years. It was her choice and we supported her. Personally, I would not recommend MD Anderson to a loved one or a foe. The doctors withheld critical information even when we asked specific questions. It really comes off as a teaching hospital only and we thought they were an organization of experts. They truly treated her like a number, yet she was so desperate for care that she asked me to not complain or say anything to them, in fear that they'd not treat her or treat her well. It's been 4 years since her passing and this has continued to bother me, hence why I am writing this review. MD Anderson is a business at the end of the day. They prioritize money over treatment and patient care. When I made thr initial call to get her help with an aggressive form of cancer, they refused to place her on schedule until they validated insurance, which took a couple of weeks. I could write so much more, but in essence, I would suggest you explore other options. The experience at MD Anderson does not align with the marketing and "Best of" reviews, which we know, establishments can pay to be featured in many cases.
Ashley H.
14:46 27 Sep 25
Are you all ready for this huge lawsuit I’m
about to bring to you all? Because it’s coming. Dont bother responding to this post. I don’t want to talk to you in email. I want to see you all in court and I absolutely will.

You want that information? Sure, you’ll get that information in the summons when the law firm is done building the case. Via certified mail. This conversation is over and the next time we talk will be in a court room.
Dan F.
15:52 06 Jul 25
I've now made three trips to MD Anderson Hospital. As a stage 4 pancreatic cancer patient, outside of my family, time is my most valuable asset. So, why take that precious time and write a Google review? Because this place deserves it. There are so many impressive things about this organization. Technology is one. They use it everywhere and use it well. Communication with the patient is amazing via technology. I can go in and do a blood test and by the time I get off the elevator for the next appointment, the results will be coming into MyChart. They coordinate between departments incredibly well. They scheduled 8 different appointments and procedures for me in one day. They also run more phase 1 clinical trials than any other hospital in the world. But the thing that makes the biggest difference is their people. Staff, nurses, physicians, front desk, security officers. Whomever you run into, they help you. If you are lost, they walk you to your appointment. I don't know if they will cure me, but the experience has been wonderful.
Kathleen M.
21:32 03 Jun 25
I would have given this hospital a 5 star but they deserve 1. Yes they helped with my husbands cancer. Dr Ajani’s team is a 5 Star. The hospital is run by hungry money people. My husband lost his job and his medical insurance. He was scheduled to have the port removed, well because he lost his insurance they denied him the service. The law states you can’t deny someone medical serves because they are unable to pay. Really sad this hospital doesn’t care. It’s all about the money. This is a very true statement. I do have the proof.
boulder M.
14:33 27 May 25
Giving a 1 star for their communication. 5 stars on the treatment of and on my wife.
We live 12 hours away from Houston, TX. Because some of the cancer is in my wife's spine it is difficult to make the 12 hour drive so we have to fly, which you know isn't cheap for people who aren't doctors. My wife had appointments scheduled for May 27 & 28. We had bought airline tickets to arrive morning of 27 and fly back after her appointments on 28.
She doubled checked her appointment times on her MyChart the night before we were to leave (last night) only to see they had rescheduled her appoints for next month. No notifications. No telephone call to let her know. If she hadn't of doubled checked we would have flown down there only to find out the appointment had been moved.
To change our flight to next month cost us an extra $430!! That may be pocket change to the doctors at MD Anderson but it's not to us. Be better MD Anderson!!
Chessie H.
16:56 16 Apr 25
We came to MD Anderson full of hope—hope that my 53-year-old mother, who has a rare and aggressive form of cancer, would finally meet a doctor who was knowledgeable, prepared, and compassionate. This was her first time ever flying. She was nervous but excited, thinking this might finally be the turning point in her fight.

Instead, it turned out to be one of the most disheartening and dehumanizing experiences we’ve had throughout this entire journey.

We spent hours uploading her medical records, scans, and test results. We spent weeks on the phone making sure everything was received and reviewed ahead of time. But when Dr. Larissa Alejandra Meyer walked into the room, she immediately admitted she hadn’t reviewed any of it. She didn’t know my mom’s history. She wasn’t familiar with her scans. She was completely unprepared—and showed no interest in catching up.

What she did show was coldness, condescension, and a total lack of compassion. She told my mom multiple times to “get her affairs in order.” When we tried to ask questions, Dr. Meyer cut my mom off mid-sentence and said, “Let me finish,” in a tone that was sharp, rude, and completely inappropriate—especially for someone facing a terminal illness. And the most devastating comment of all? She said, “Cancer and hope don’t go together.”

That sentence crushed my mom. I watched the light leave her eyes. We came in hopeful. We left defeated.

The only new information we received at that appointment? That the chemotherapy my mom had already gone through was likely the wrong chemo for her specific cancer type. That should have been the beginning of a deeper conversation about next steps. Instead, Dr. Meyer offered no real options—just more of the same chemo and a cold suggestion to come back if things got worse. No clinical trials. No treatment plan. No ideas. No hope.

All of this could have been shared in a phone call. Instead, my mom spent over $3,000 she didn’t have to fly across the country to be dismissed, interrupted, and told to prepare for death by someone who couldn’t even bother to read her file.

I don’t care how educated or experienced a doctor may be—if they can’t treat patients with kindness, respect, and basic human decency, they have no business being in this field.

MD Anderson let us down. They didn’t just waste our time and money—they took something from us we may never get back: hope.
Estefania O.
20:04 23 Feb 25
Horrible bedside manner. My loved one went in the last stages of cancers and while we knew what was to be expected we were surprised by how little proactiveness they had and how little empathy they have for a person who's dying and their family members. My brother went in for dehydration and seizure. So many times we were asked "What do you want to get out of coming here" aren't they the doctors with all the years of study.

The nurses were very blunt one thing is stating facts in a empathetic way and another is just flat out saying things implying"there's no point " for you to be here
I have come to the conclusion that they are "successful" because they take in "optimal" patients that are on early stages.

They basically treated us badly with the intent of getting us to take my brother home. Talked to us like we didn't understand English we talk with accent not think with one. If you can just go to St Lukes. These people will add to your hurt with stress and then bill you for it.
Angie S.
03:17 13 Feb 25
MD Anderson is touted as one of the best hospitals in cancer care. However, our experience is to the contrary. My husband died at MD Anderson due to negligence from his medical team, inaccurate diagnosis, delays in patient care and general lack of responsiveness and mistreatment.
He had radical Cystectomy in Nov 2023 and we were informed that the surgery went very well and all cancer was removed. He use to go quarterly for CT scan to monitor his condition. On his 4th session in 04 Oct 2024, the CT scan showed a small mass. The CT scan results were posted on 11 Oct 2024. A biopsy was to be scheduled but we were not getting any response from the Dr's office, despite repeated calls and messages on my chart. The PA said he has no control over scheduling biopsies. Finally the biopsy was scheduled for 21 Oct 2024. We saw the results of the biopsy on 'my chart' which stated that the mass was growing near the sigmoid colon and the analysis was inconclusive because the sample was not correctly taken. No one from the doctors office called to explain the results. We sent messages every day on my chart and called many times to find out path forward. We wanted to know if another biopsy was needed but received no attention from Dr. Kamat's office (MDA claims that they respond to all messaged within 48 hrs - that never happened).
On October 29, Robert Ramage, the PA, responded that no cancer was detected. We asked if we need another biopsy. He said , 'if you want one, you can get it done'. A strange response from the medical team. They should be the one telling us what to do. We asked to see the doctor. He gave an appointment for 19 Nov 2024. We begged for an earlier appointment but they refused. They also did not schedule a repeat biopsy. My husband started having extreme pressure in his colon. We called again and sent messages on my chart to the doctor. Robert Ramage said that it has nothing to do with them and we should schedule to see a GI doctor.
On 02 Nov (Saturday) , my husband started having fever so I took him to the emergency room at MDA. The CT scan showed that the mass had grown and was exerting pressure on the colon. We iterated our whole ordeal to them and asked if we could have a repeat biopsy. Finally the biopsy was done on 04 Nov and followed by a petscan on 08 Nov.
The results of biopsy and petscan were posted on 'my chart' on 12 Nov but no one from the doctors office called to explain them. We kept sending messages that we need to understand results and path forward but there was no response. Finally, we saw Dr. Kamat on 19 Nov. It was confirmed that the mass was cancerous and was exerting extreme pressure on his colon. I begged him to have an oncologist see my husband immediately and not wait till 05 Dec. We were finally allowed to see Dr. Gao on evening of 19 Nov. He told us that immediate treatment was required and that it has already been delayed too long. My husband received his first immunotherapy on 25 Nov. and first chemotherapy on 27 Nov.
On Sunday 01 Dec he had swelling in his knees so we took him to MDA emergency again. My husband again mentioned that he had extreme pressure on his colon. The ER doctor ordered an enema. I told the doctor that it was not a regular constipation issue. It is the tumor/inflamation that is causing the pressure but they did not listen. Enema was given 0n 02 Dec morning (Monday) which resulted in huge increase in size of his stomach (like 7 month pregnant) because the fluid could not be discharged. So they had to do emergency colostomy on him to relieve that pressure on Monday afternoon. The doctor informed us that the surgery supposedly went well. On Tuesday morning, 03 Dec, around 8 am they asked him to get up and sit on the chair. As he stood up he collapsed. Code was called but MERIT team did not show up until 10 minutes after he collapsed. As a result, he died due to a clot going to his lung. No blood thinners were given to prevent clot formation.
MD Anderson is responsible for my husbands death due to their negligence, delays and pathetic care of patients.
Rick S.
18:55 12 Feb 25
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.

https://patientsforchange.com/

Love you so much Dad. Miss you everyday ❤️❤️❤️
Myra S.
14:37 12 Feb 25
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.
Seema A.
06:47 12 Feb 25
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.
Kash S.
04:34 12 Feb 25
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. 🙏❤️

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