Dr. Stefano Rosario Tarantolo, MD

My wife has been going to Dr. Tarantolo for over three years now and he is one of the most caring, compassionate doctors we have ever met. He listens to our concerns, takes his time explaining what is going on, and speaks in a language that we can all understand. We actually look forward to our time with him because we know we are receiving excellent care. This ride we have been on now for nearly four years called Leukemia has been a great learning experience, and Dr. Tarantolo goes out of his way to make it less expensive, while providing amazing care for which our family is very grateful. We highly recommend him to anyone needing care with his expertise. Thank you.

He ignored my plea for help, I was telling him I'm sick do something! On my first visit he wanted to do lab & CT scans to check for everything from Lupus, to Diabetes, to Leukemia, and more, one of those I had but he ignored the numbers! I saw him four times in 10 months, and called his nurse in between to tell them I wasn't getting better! He had numbers right in front of him for almost one year but ignored them! One year later I landed in the hospital near death, they told me I was lucky to NOT be comatose! He ignored me screaming for help, and the numbers, why have me do testing, and lab if you're going to ignore the results?! We know that for a fact since after several requests and the hospital incident they finally sent records to my primary care physician, who was astounded they ignored my lab/numbers! My primary asked me if I was sure I didn't have... because all my symptoms pointed to it, I told the hematologist had ran all those tests and told me I was fine. But I couldn't… get the office to send my primary the records. Tarantolo had a certain arrogance with me the whole time, no bed side manner. I would ask if it could be this or that, and he would mock me, "So, you want me to check..." Yeah well I want you do something! My spouse made every trip with me, at the last appointment I was so weak he had to talk for me! Six weeks later I couldn't walk and was vomiting when I was admitted to the ER. I will definitely not be going back to this doctor.

Found information to give informed consent for treatment was withheld from me. I had to do the detective work and thankfully nursing staff, along the way, brought the additional information to my attention. My wife and I felt rushed when receiving the prognosis and not listened too when I was requesting the least invasive treatment.

The first time he saw us he told us that he would find out what was devastating to my health. After many years of losing ground in my health it was comforting to know what I was dealing with. When he found out what it was, he took as much time as we wanted to discuss the treatment and the disease. I never have felt rushed and know that he would take whatever time is needed to talk and help me. I am confident in his ability to find and do whatever is best for me. He made an effort to see me every day that I was in the hospital even coming at 11:00 at night just to make sure he saw me that day. At the appointments he spends whatever time we need. He seems to be more than a doctor, he feels like a friend. His explanations help build confidence in the treatment and in his abilities to help find what is best for the individual. Even when we have seen him out of the medical situations he has made extra effort to greet us and introduce us to his family. It is nice to feel wanted.

Dr. Tarantolo is not only a brilliant doctor, I would expect that, if I had done my homework and research on finding the best doctor, I would expect nothing less, that would be common. But Dr. Tarantolo is a person that cares, is genuine, and kind. That is uncommon. If he doesn't know the answer, he doesn't make one up, he continues to work to find the answer. After surgery, he is the first person I see when awake. He calls through out the weeks following to see how I'm progressing. Late at night, if i'm having issues, I text him and always get an immediate reply. He does not look at you as a patient, but as a person. Truly Uncommon.

Every single time I had a follow up appointment with this doctor for over two years I saw him, he would come in the room late, and then say "Why are you here?" He had not reviewed my file and would have to look at it to refresh his memory. He would rush the visit to about 5 minutes. I could not get a conclusive diagnosis after all this time. He would make instant decisions based on the blood results at that moment (not looking at risk factor and results over time) and would take me off blood thinners and put me on aspirin. Without fail I would have blood clots within a few days of being put on aspirin. I got tired of hearing "You dodged another bullet" by my primary care doctor. I got tired of no diagnosis or logical, consistent plan of treatment. Switched to another hematologist and got diagnosed within a few months and given appropriate treatment with no further problems. My current doctor never has to ask why I am there, and knows my file and can discuss everything… without being late or rushing me out after just 5 minutes. I have no doubt this doctor is very good with cancer patients. I did not feel he was interested in dealing with autoimmune disorders.

He treated me initally for blood disorder. Discovered prostate cancer, had it removed with full recovery. Found lung cancer and again had removed with no reoccurence to date. Wouldn't go to any other oncologist.

Without a doubt he the most personal and caring doctor I have ever been associated with. He takes time to get to know me. His recommendations for my cancer have been outstanding.