On a scale from one to ten, I would give Dr Michael Sanford a minus fifty. Our experience with Dr Sanford indicated he continually demonstrates a total lack of compassion. He can also be obnoxious and aloof. These traits from a medical professional are not acceptable to me. There are several examples and I will share two of them here. EXAMPLE #1: My husband first went to Dr Sanford due to a high PSA score and it was determined he needed a prostate biopsy. Dr Sanford told us the two options (#1: in his office, #2: an MRI followed by the out-patient biopsy procedure at the hospital). However, he would not explain the benefits of one versus the other and just told us to make a choice; he wanted an answer in his office, right there and then. My husband is claustrophobic and prefers an 'open MRI'. However, when we asked Dr Sanford if 'open MRI' was used, he told us "I don't know". I really did not appreciate that. Dr Sanford has sent patients for the same MRI hundreds of times and he could not answer a simple question about the procedure. We asked Dr Sanford which of the two biopsy methods was better and Dr Sanford would not answer the question. In fact, he said (with what has become a familiar smirk on his face) that "my father is also a urologist and he wouldn't tell you either" (an absolutely terrible response). As some of you reading this might know, when facing a diagnosis of cancer, we were looking for a doctor that shows a little understanding and some empathy; and someone who communicates well and answers questions in a way that is clearly understood. So, we did our own research, and we found that 'Open MRI' equipment is indeed used at the Eisenhower facility. Additionally we also talked to a few other medical professionals and we chose the MRI method for the biopsy because the results are more detailed from the MRI test and this ultimately leads to a more accurate cancer evaluation score which is something we definitely wanted. We learned all this on our own; none of this information came from Dr Michael Sanford, the "medical professional". I would also like to point out that in the past (when we needed MRIs for back injuries or knee injuries) several different doctors were able to tell us which facility within Eisenhower has OPEN MRIs. They know this information based on past experience with other patients. EXAMPLE #2: a couple of months ago,we had our visit with the oncologist. The oncologist looked at my husbands current test results and said all was great; everything looked like it was on the right track for a complete recovery. In fact, he said, "I think you're doing great and you're going to be fine. I think we beat it". Wow, that lifted our spirits. Two weeks later, we went to Dr Sanford who gave us a very different and grim retrospective. He said that the last PSA blood test result was up ever so slightly and that we need to watch it and if it goes up more, additional treatment would be necessary including another biopsy and cryotherapy. We both left Dr Sanford's office feeling awful and immediately made an appointment to return to the oncologist for clarification. The oncologist totally disagreed with the disappointing news we got from Dr Sanford. He reiterated that all was fine. He explained again that PSA scores tick up and tick down, but a slight tick up does not mean that further treatment is necessary. He told us about other patients whose PSAs went up, went down, went up, then down and eventually, down to a desired score indicating all was ultimately fine, and this is very often the way these situations play out. We left the oncologist's office feeling much better but, needless to say, we will not return to Dr Sanford. His communication skills are awful, to say the least, and thankfully there are lots of other choices. read more