Survivor Stories: Read Testimonials from RCCA Patients
At Regional Cancer Care Associates, when you or someone you love is facing the frightening reality of a cancer diagnosis, we provide a commitment to your care and a promise of hope. This means all of us — doctors, nurses, pharmacists, staff, etc. — are dedicated to ensuring you have access to the highest-quality, most comprehensive and most advanced treatments, just like we have for thousands of people from all walks of life.
See what RCCA patients are saying about our state-of-the-art, compassionate and community-based approach to fighting cancer for the win!
Valerie Freeman
Paterson, NJ resident
Treated for triple negative breast cancer by RCCA’s Stanley Waintraub, MD, at the John Theurer Cancer Center (JTCC) at Hackensack University Medical Center
After undergoing lumpectomy at another area hospital, Valerie Freeman turned to the John Theurer Cancer Center (JTCC) at Hackensack University Medical Center because she had been very impressed with the way that the RCCA doctors, the nurses, and others there had cared for her mother. Further, she adds that in battling tripe-negative breast cancer, she wanted access to the medical expertise, comprehensive services, and wide-ranging clinical trials offered by JTCC and RCCA, one of the largest oncology physician networks in the United States.
“They didn’t make me feel like a patient. They knew me – Val. They knew my likes and dislikes. When I go for follow-up visits, I still get a sick feeling in my stomach when I’m outside the center, because it brings back memories of everything I had to go through, but that goes away the minute I’m inside and seeing all the people who know me and took care of me.”
Vincent Stasio
Manasquan, NJ resident
Treated for lung cancer by RCCA’s Bhavesh Balar, MD at CentraState Medical Center in Freehold, NJ
“By the grace of God I got connected with Dr. Balar,” Vincent Stasio says, explaining that when the oncologist did not agree with the initial findings of another physician, Dr. Balar undertook his own in-depth assessment and consulted another expert at Johns Hopkins Medicine. It was determined that the cancer originated in the lung, not the colon, which had important ramifications for Stasio’s treatment.
“I have nothing but great things to say about Dr. Balar,” Stasio says. “He is incredibly conscientious and always open to dialogue. He truly has the best interests of his patients in mind.”
Sadra Hampton, PhD
Englewood, NJ resident
Treated for triple negative breast cancer by RCCA’s Stanley Waintraub, MD, at the John Theurer Cancer Center (JTCC) at Hackensack University Medical Center
Dr. Hampton chose to receive care at the John Theurer Cancer Center (JTCC) of Hackensack University Medical Center in part because, “I grew up in Hackensack, I delivered my daughter at Hackensack University Medical Center, and I was very familiar with and confident in the care I would receive there.” Another factor was the cutting-edge treatment provided at JTCC by Regional Cancer Care Associates (RCCA) oncologists such as Stanley Waintraub, MD, JTCC’s Co-Chief of Breast Oncology and Dr. Hampton’s physician.
For Dr. Hampton, Dr. Waintraub’s skill and style were just what the patient ordered. “I loved that he was so straightforward about what we were going to do to help me beat cancer. I’m a ‘shoot from the hip’ type of person myself, so to have someone who could talk to me about what I was facing without sugar coating it, while also being compassionate, was amazing,” says Dr. Hampton, who has high marks not only for Dr. Waintraub but for the entire staff at JTCC.
“Perfect” seems like a strange word to use for this type of experience, but that’s almost what it was in terms of the care I received, not only medically, but from the way everyone took the time to care for me as a person,” she says.
For more information, or to schedule an appointment, call (844) 346-7222. You can also schedule an appointment by calling the RCCA location nearest you.