I was sent to Dr Baron from my urologist after my psa went to 1.76. He informed me that I had a Gleason of 9 which is real scary because that indicates an aggressive hard to kill cancer. In 2014 I had radiation treatment for prostate cancer which drove psa down to 0.01. In 2020 my psa started to rise. I was sent to have a ct scan. The cancer was found in one of the lymph glands. I met Dr Baron who put me on a chemo drug which drove my psa back down to 0.01 in less than 2 months. I'll meet with him again in April. So far I have nothing to complain about. The man is a genius. read more

Dr. Baron had been treating my Mother's metastatic breast cancer for about 2 years. While he boasts respect of his colleagues, is always direct & undoubtedly has many years of experience under his sleeve, there are multiple things that I wish Dr. Baron would have done differently in the process of treating my Mother's disease. 1. Not enough time spent on the case. In the process of 2 years that we were seeing Dr. Baron, his practice apparently grew and the time and attention spent with us exponentially decreased. I have several examples of fully preventable sloppiness that significantly affected my Mother's well-being. While the waiting time for brief appointments would range from 30 min. to 1.5 hours, the time spent on our case went down to 5-10 min. 2. Treatment choices that lacked backup. Dr. Baron seems to be known for his aggressiveness in picking the treatments. With cancer, you have to. Unfortunately, the choices he made in the course of my Mother's disease were not always right, sometimes very poor. Doses that were too big for my Mother to handle, switching to a different drug while the previous one was still working gave her cancer a chance to grow. 3. Skepticism toward new developments. Dr. Baron does not believe in integrative cancer treatments or in any new developments directed at the patient's well-being; the mere mention of chemo-sensitivity testing brought a smirk onto his face. Being open-minded about complimentary ways could have helped identify the better suited treatment as well as help with the quality of life. The good: Dr. Baron is undoubtedly focused on killing as much cancer as possible. The bad: How much of the good stuff gets killed in the process is not a concern for him at this point. Note: The above is solely my personal opinion. Please do as much research as you possibly can before you pick your doctor and your treatment. read more

Shocking news when a loved one gets a cancer diagnosis. We were recommended to Dr. Baron from our internist. He came to our room in the hospital at 6:30 at night, and stayed with us for an hour. No charge, never rushed us. Was patient, kind, and extremely articulate. Since then, we've met with him at his office and took well over an hour of his time, like the other poster, we had done a lot of research, had lots of questions and he was patient and respectful and very very smart. We went to Stanford just for a 2nd opinion and met with a very nice and seemingly competent Oncologist there as well, but we prefer Dr. Baron, he's been nothing less than absolutely impressive. We are big non-western mainstream people and have struggled with going the straight AMA allopathic, drugs/chemo route and we feel having made that choice, we couldn't have found a better doc. We'll see how it goes in the next 6 months of the chemo and beyond... so far 5 stars for Doc Baron. read more

I'm not a malicious individual trying to bring anyone down. I really think good in most people, but Dr. Baron treated my dad with zero level of respect. My dad is the sweetest, kindest man I have the privilege of knowing. He has lost a long battle with cancer. Anyone who is suffering or has a loved one with cancer knows how painful it is. My dad was at stage 4 lung cancer. We, my sisters and I, BEGGED for Dr. Baron's help find ways to improve my dad's condition. My dad had also just undergone cancer surgery and met Dr. Baron (arrogant smuck) at the California Pacific Medical Hospital. Dr. Baron wrote my dad off probably before he even met my dad. I just wanted to give this brief background so to validate my review. I hope you seriously consider my review before looking him up. My original review follows: Dr. Baron is not even deserving of 1 star. If you or your loved ones encounter this oncologist, run, don't walk out of his office. He's a heartless, rude, arrogant individual that does not care about his patients. I'm stunned that he's got so many patients. He sees all types of cancer patients and does not treat patients or their families with any compassion. I don't typically write reviews, but I felt compelled to do so for this jerk because no one should have to be treated by him especially for cancer. For your own well being, do not go to him, if you have to see an oncologist and want to live, look elsewhere. read more

September 14, 2009 In this age of medical uncertainty, Ari Baron is the beacon of professionalism that is mostly lacking in today's medical world. When my wife got her lung cancer diagnosis 17 months ago, and a staff member managed to squeeze her in at the end of that horrible day. Dr. Baron was direct about her diagnosis. He said he could treat her condition, but not cure her as it was stage 4. He then asked my wife only one question. Do you want fight it? When she said yes. He leapt into action! He got her into a study, diagnostics, were finished in a week and treatment began about 10 days after her initial appointment. She has been seen every 21 days since. About the wait others have complained about, Sometimes it is short and sometimes it is longer. All we know is when my wife doesn't need a lot of time with Dr. Baron, we are out in 15 minutes other times, it could be as much as 30 minutes. We know other patients sometimes need more time than other times. I do know my wife feels better after seeing him than before she walked in the door.. He is a remarkably positive, and a real mensch. He is up to date on the latest trials and treatments. While he is very aggressive in his treatment, he stays within the "standard of care" parameters. The staff is very supportive. The nurses are wonderful. There is a reason it is a very busy practice. read more

I agree with one of the reviews on yelp, which said: "run, don't walk out of Dr. Baron's office." He is uncaring and arrogant. He only saw me for 20 minutes every three or four months. I was left to flounder, only able to communicate with him through his nurses. I finally found another oncologist, who is caring, compassionate and treats the whole "person", not just the "disease." On the first visit, he spent an hour with me asking about my diet, exercise regime etc. I was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer, which has metastasized to my bones. I now have hope, since I am out of this practice, which is run like a mill. read more

2 and a half stars would feel right. Ultimately the reviewer that felt that Dr. Baron didn't disclose enough information to make the patient feel they understood all the ramifications of their decision. In my case it was my wife. Dr. Baron didn't explain to my 34 year old wife that the treatment he was recommending had a 50% chance of leaving her unable to get pregnant. When I brought this up his explanation that the treatment was necessary and therefore the side effects superfluous (I paraphrase perhaps unfairly) did not satisfy. Also, in the 7 times my wife visited we were left waiting more than an hour after our appointment time on 3 occasions. To be fair, these were the first 3 visits. My wife says that is no longer happening. Dr. Baron wasn't bad. He had the relevant statistics at his fingertips and was easy to be frank with. We saw many doctors during my wife's treatment and he wasn't one of the poor ones. Just not one of the really good ones either. read more

I have been a patient of Dr. Baron's for almost a year. I visit his office every three to four weeks for Chemo Therapy. At almost every appointment, I have to wait for hours in the waiting room to see the doctor and get my treatment. Twice they have rescheduled me after waiting for several hours. The same is true for returning calls to schedule appointments or refill medications. The receptionist does answer the phone, but I am then put into voice mail. It usually takes three to four messages to get a return call. On three occasions I have actually gone to the office because I did not get a response to any of my messages. I will say that when I see the nurses for my Chemo treatments, they are great. They always apologize for the very long delays and make me very comfortable. They are extremely professional and are the reason that I return. Overall the treatments are going very well. It's the process that seems so unfair to a patient that is going through Chemo and it's side effects. I feel that the process of getting and keeping a timely appointment should be the easy part. read more

Ari Baron has been our family oncologist for fifteen years. That's right, our FAMILY oncologist. Both my husband and I have been through cancer treatment and I am here to tell you that Dr. Baron is the most compassionate, caring, competent doctor a person could ever hope to find. He spends as much time with you as you need. Sometimes that means he runs late, but unlike so many other docs he is not ruled by the clock, managed care and profits. I'm happy to wait if it means I'll get his full attention for as long as is necessary. He is wise and he knows his stuff. His bedside manner is outstanding. He made SURE we understood exactly what was going on with our cancers--the diagnosis, our treatment options, the side-effects etc. I just can't say enough about him. Dr. Baron in no way encouraged me to go on this site or offer up a review. In fact, I've never written a yelp review. I'm just so dismayed by the negative reviewers here because they in no way reflect our long, multi-faceted experience with this outstanding physician. read more

I see Dr. Baron for treatment of chronic anemia, and I've had a good experience with him. He's quite sensible, personable and helpful. My only complaint is that the size of his practice makes it difficult to navigate. read more

This review is for nurse John...he is truly the kindest person. Anyone who has dealt with cancer knows that it's the time between the tests or scans and hearing the results that is the worst. My husband had his CT scan this morning at 11am and he already called me with results by 2pm as he understands how anxious it can make you feel. We really love him and are grateful for that. Cancer sucks but we were fortunate enough to have gone to Dr Baron right away, gone through 3 sessions of BEP chemotherapy and now it's just checkups from here on out....thank goodness for modern medicine. Hubby is going on year 3 in remission. read more

My experience with Dr. Baron and his office was very good. The staff was great and courteous. Dr. Baron was calm and explained all I needed to know, answered all my questions and had a great sense of humor. read more

When my hematocrit was life-threatingly low and I was hospitalized for blood transfusions, the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I was released from the hospital and referred to Dr. Baron. After asking me a few questions, he had a good idea of what I had. A Parvo virus had triggered my inherited thalassemia minor which I didn't know I had. When other doctors were puzzled and testing me for internal bleeding, Dr. Baron took only a few minutes to correctly diagnose my condition. Dr. Baron exudes intelligence. He's caring about his patients and passionate about his work. This is a world-class physician! read more

Dr Baron is one of the finest doctor I have ever seen. I will personally attest to both his competence and to his compassionate care. There is a very negative review posted by Jas W. I respect your opinion but I feel you need to give this man a break. I've known him for more than a year now and as a child of a patient that he treats, I know where I will head to if I were to get cancer. When I was waiting for my father's cancer surgery to finish (this was at a hospital, not Dr. Baron's office), I struck up a conversation with a retired oncologist who was waiting for another appointment. I mentioned only that my dad had cancer. The retired oncologist said, "I hope you are seeing Dr. Ari Baron." If cancer strikes, I hope all of you do as well. read more

I'm not here to make rash and rude comments about Dr. Baron, but those of you who have cancer or have a loved-one in this situation, please keep your options open in terms of getting treatment someplace else. First off, from experience, the oncology department at CPMC is very limited in offering cutting-edge service to their cancer patients. Situations are overlooked because of the doctor/patient ratio--tons of patients, yet so little doctors. Now for Dr. Baron's sake: he seems to know all the answers--I stress the word "all"--from radiation to surgery if it's deemed for the cancer. How could he? First CPMC, department of oncology, does not have a comprehensive board where oncologists team up with other specialist, per se for tumors, to discuss options for the cancer patient. Rather, he makes a bold and fast decision, usually when you are in his office for an update. It's like "wham bam thank you, mam," and a person walks away feeling that there's no options left...Don't wait to see another specialist from another hospital...you owe it to yourself, to your loved one... As far as Dr. Baron being friendly and very precise with his words and spending time to come to one's hospital room--sure he does all that, but that's part of his job. Just keep your options open if you receive bad news. There's hope left. One doctor's statement is not the same as another doctor's diagnosis/statement, or plan of attack for cancer. Common sense tells us if we use it...don't fall in love with the cordiality of a doctor, but judge the doctor by the way he or she presents a community of minds concerning your situation. Dr. Baron is a great doctor, nevertheless, but again keep your options open--UCSF COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER, STANFORD CANCER CENTER, NEW YORK CITY WHERE THERE'S A DOCTOR KATO, who can take out a cancerous tumor when all else fails... Cheers! read more

Though I think Dr. Baron is competent enough in a scientific sense - I did not find him caring or compassionate at all. He treated my breast cancer with standard chemotherapy, along with a clinical trial drug. He scheduled my regular chemo sessions on mornings that he wasn't even in the office, so I didn't even get to see him on a regular basis. When I *was* able to see him, he often told me that many of my side effects (asthma, migraines, skin rashes, severe stomach pain) were DEFINITELY not related to the chemo. In the worst case scenarios he offered me no help or solution for them, and in the best case scenarios he passed me off to various specialists. It was obvious he was not concerned about my comfort at all. In the case of my severe abdominal pain which lasted 3 months and caused me to lose 20 pounds, he referred me to a GI specialist and said he was "happy to wash his hands of it" (gesturing with a hand-motion of wiping his hands). I subsequently saw a new oncologist who helped me heal from the abdominal damage that chemo indeed had caused. When he spoke to me, he felt very cold and disinterested. He liked to talk numbers and statistics, and I never felt like he saw me as a person in this whole thing... more like a number in his clinical trial. His office was chaotic and the wait times were terrible. There was a morning where every seat was taken in the waiting room, and people (some elderly) had to stand and wait along the walls and even out in the hallway. Though the end result for me was that I got the necessary treatment ... in retrospect I wish I could have had a caring and interested doctor. It would have infused a little positivity into a difficult experience. I would absolutely not recommend Dr. Baron to anyone. I would, however, like to thank his nursing staff. They were the silver lining in the cloud. They brightened each day and put forth 110% effort and compassion. read more

I was treated with colon cancer by Dr. Ari Baron. He is incredible. Very passionate about his patients and his work. Very articulate with his opinions and prognosis and very good bedside manner. When I was in the hospital he always came and provided tremendous comfort. He is also a great family and very devoted to his children. These are the qualities that make a great doctor, not to mention his research and achievements in the oncology field. There are not enough stars in the rating to do Dr. Baron justice!! read more

Dr. Baron, an oncologist, is well-prepared, knowledgeable, and determined to treat the patient's cancer as effectively as possible. Unfortunately, there were several negatives I experienced in his level of service. 1) Not enough time in the appointment to deal with all my questions and issues. 2) Failure to explain potential side effects. 3) Apparent lack of knowledge as to possible treatments to mitigate these side effects. 4) Insensitivity to issues, like pain, other than the actual cancer. For these reasons, I would not go back to him. read more

I like him. He's busy - true. But I think he spends time on the right things and his staff is diligent and supports the practice well.

Dr. Baron is a good doctor. He is intelligent, patient, compassionate, and frank. He takes the time to listen and answer questions. When my partner was diagonosed, Dr. Baron saw us right away, while other oncologist offices (including Stanford) said their first appointment was 3 months away. He would have been dead by then. Yes, the office is busy, but the administration is still better than most. My phone calls are always returned. The nurses are all wonderful, caring people. read more

I was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago. Two of my colleagues were diagnosed in the previous 5 months and both my surgeon and my colleagues immediately recommended Dr. Baron. He has been wonderful. He has been aggressive and understanding in my treatment. I agree that Ari is arrogant at times, but all I know is that I'm still doing well 10 years later. read more

There is no question that Dr. Baron is a skilled oncologist. His understanding of cancers and ability to explain are superb. I expect his skill at diagnosis and prescription are as well. Dr. Baron told my sweetheart that he would be her primary physician in addition to being her oncologist then proceeded to apply his bureaucratic firewall whereby all communications must be with nurse practitioners who would, in turn, confer with the doctor. After suffering debilitating side effects from two rounds of chemo treatment with the new drug Tencentriq began. Although almost one-half of patients suffer adverse side effects and must cease Dr. Barron did not provide real-time monitoring but left his obfuscating firewall in place so that timely response was unavailable. The stress of the treatment was hellish with chills, fever, oscillating temperature from 95 to 102 and still the firewall was maintained to protect the doctor's privacy. Nurse practitioners were unable to respond when dealing with a brand-new drug so my sweetheart suffered to honor the personal space of the doctor. The extreme stress caused an ulcer that burst, emergency surgery was necessary and given her debilitated condition recovery was ephemeral and she gradually but quickly lost the ability to communicate while still conscious and was forced to face her imminent death incommunicado. I believe Dr. Baron is a fine oncologist, perhaps among the best but no one should ever permit him to be their primary physician. His choice to preserve his personal space at the cost of patients is simply intolerable. Every patient has a right to a champion who will do their utmost to make their path as gentle as possible and claiming that station then refusing to perform is thoughtless and cruel. read more

I don't usually yelp doctors, but recently decided to take a look, and it prompted me to review this very poor doctor. Years ago, my husband (aged 42) was diagnosed with cancer, and because Dr. Baron was both recommended and available, we went to see him first. Never, ever listen to him without getting a second opinion. For starters, he immediately scheduled my husband for Chemotherapy (where he makes $$) which could have killed him, and when we got second and third opinions (from UC, Stanford), it turned out that the most recent literature regarding my husband's cancer confirmed that Chemo is unnecessary, and would not in fact change the outcome of my husband's cancer. Thank goodness, we did not take his advice and my husband didnt have chemo and is still alive. Ari Baron did not care about my husband. He was going on vacation and said he'd let us know about my husband's scans (whether he would live or die) when he got back. By the time he called us (15 days later), we had been to Stanford, UC, and my husband was in radiation, the appropriate treatment, after many intellectual, scholarly, competent and caring doctors properly read his pathology report, looked at studies and weighed the many options and and the grave effects of chemotherapy. Dr. Baron was uber confident in recommending chemo, did not think any thought or second opinions were indicated, and he was just plain WRONG. If I had had the energy, I would have gone to the medical board. I feel bad that I haven't made this public in some way, because I am sure many folks have had chemo he recommends who don't need it. And of course, if they live through it, they think he's cured them. I would stay away from this doctor. He acted like he totally knew what he was doing, that no thought or analysis of the case was necessary, and I believe his pat answer to all his patients is likely, "chemo." Get a second opinion, or better yet, go elsewhere. I could go on with other comments about weird things he said to me and my husband during the consult, and how wrong he was about the entire case, but I will leave it at this. Look at the other reviews. He really doesn't care. read more

I give 1 star to Dr Baron!!! If you are referred to this doctor, Run FOR YOUR LIFE. If your cancer doesnt kill you, this dr will. He may be a respected member of the community and some may have received wonderful treatment from him. My family is one of the families that didnt get quality care from this man, in fact after 6 weeks of chemo Dr Baron didnt see, touch, examine or even talk to us once. He left the care of my loved one in the hands of his nurses and our other doctors only receiving information about my loved ones case by way of telephone and the occasional message left by family members. The wait times are horrible, the infusion center in his office is old and dirty, you share a room with about 5 other patients and can hear everything that they are talking about. I think if the state came in to do a site review this place would be shut down for privacy issues alone. I will say that Leah, his front office person is great, I think she deserves a raise and a bonus! she carries the majority of the front office duties and does it with a smile on her face, the other members of the front office in suite 220 are not so friendly or nice. This review is just my opinion, many find this man wonderful ( I dont see why) read more