Marilyn Sandford, MD

I saw Dr. Sandford in 2016. Horrible communication skills. She diagnosed melanoma. I have outlived my 6-8 month prognosis, given in 2016 by the oncologist referral she gave me who was a very lovely and kind woman. So if you need care for cancer I recommend Dr. Nezami in Newport Beach CA...confer with him before you do anything. He has given me another 6 years of quality life and counting.
Aug 7th, 2022

Dr. Sandford and her team were awesome. They played music I liked to comfort me. They were attentive and understood how scared I was for a biopsy. Dr. Sandford explained things, went above and beyond to explain things that were related (like hormone replacement therapy side effects). When the local anesthetic was not fully working, Dr. Sanford noticed the slightest change in my demeanor and reacted swiftly and appropriately. She stopped the procedure to administer more local anesthetic stating "we're not into torture in this office". I'm not sure what happened in other poor reviews as everyone has their own experience but for me this doctor was great.
Jan 2nd, 2022

I went in to see Dr. Sandford regarding a lumpectomy, and upon her examination, another lump was discovered that required a biopsy. Which she just performed this morning. Upon reading some of the reviews on here, I wanted to come on here to say, that I was treated with absolute KINDESS and RESPECT from her, and her staff. I know everyone is scared as I am going to see a breast surgeon. Maybe Dr. Sandford is a little more straight-forward than what some people are use to, but honestly, I appreciate that quality. Especially in the face of potentially dealing with a life changing event as breast cancer, I want a straight-forward honest doctor, not a sugar-coated patronizing one. I give 5 stars to Dr. Sandford and her staff. No matter my biopsy outcome, I couldn't have chosen a better doctor to go to. Thank you! Monica Sundsted
Nov 22nd, 2022

Dr. Sandford's communication with her patients is about the worst I have seen in a doctor. I had no idea what to ask her about the cancer - I read about margins and the surgery on line. That is the only source of information I got. The margins recommended for DCIS are 2 mm. I assumed that was what Sandford would take. I assumed the amount taken would be a maximum of approximately 10 to 20 cubic mm - or for we Americans about .06 to .12 inches. She removed tissue that was 2 1/2 X 2 1/2 X 1 3/4 inches. I discovered this from the pathology report from surgery. There was never a discussion prior to surgery. When I asked her following surgery why so much was taken out, she said she had felt a "subtle fullness" in my breast that was 1.5 to 2 cm in size. She did not mention this to me at any time prior to surgery. When she palpated my breast, it was approximately 10 days after my biopsy and what she felt was probably bleeding or swelling caused by the biopsy because there was nothing in my post-surgery pathology report except the 3 mm DCIS. Had she discussed this with me before surgery, I would have advocated for less being taken, or selected another surgeon. At any rate, whatever she "felt" was not cancer and did not show up on any of the several mammograms I had, nor was it felt by any of the other 4 people who had palpated my breast before she did, nor did it appear on the post-surgery pathology report. She removed perfectly healthy breast tissue. During the discussion with Dr. Sandford about the amount of breast tissue removed she told me that she wanted 13 mm margins with a minimum of 3 mm. The pathology report from surgery indicated that one of my margins was only 2 mm, another was 5 mm and the other was 60 mm, so on two sides, she did even get the margins she said she was aiming for. When I asked if I should worry that she did not get the margins she said she wanted, her office manager emailed to say "your margins are fine." Dr. Sandford also told me that my "questions [about the amount of tissue removed] were becoming unreasonable" and that "she had done nothing wrong." I have a friend who recommended Dr. Sandford as a surgeon because she had a benign mass removed by Sandford about 7 years ago. In 2020 my friend had a mammogram ordered by Dr. Sandford and the radiologist indicated that the results were abnormal and he recommended that the friend get an MRI. Dr. Sandford did not relay this information to my friend, nor did she order an MRI and now this friend is in Texas being treated for metastatic breast cancer because the cancer was not detected until a year later because of Sandford failing to pass this information along or order an MRI. Sandford's staff, although friendly, are also incompetent. Her nurse practitioner, Nancy Nigge told me at my pre-op visit that I had an abnormal EKG, but did not offer any options to understand this. Ms. Nigge's response when I asked her about this was "I don't know, I am not a cardiologist." She did not send a referral down to the institute that had done the EKG (it was the institute that they sent me to for the EKG). When I called the institute, they told me that "I was not assigned to a cardiologist" and when I left a message asking to speak to someone, they never called me back and Sandford's office, who sent me there, did not help. In addition to the stress of having breast cancer, I then thought I would be going into surgery with an abnormal heart rhythm. At the post-op appointment with Ms. Nigge, she noted that I had developed a seroma, which I had been warned is a common occurrence. This is build-up of fluid in the breast. Her suggestion for this was "if it gets uncomfortable, come in and we can insert a needle and drain it." Apparently, she is not aware that you can control seromas by wearing a tight sports bra or a compression bra, a solution that seems much more pleasant than having yet another needle inserted into your breast after just having surgery. Luckily a family member suggested this, and it resolved itself in a couple of weeks.
Dec 21st, 2021

Sep 2nd, 2020