I consider Dr. Spillane not only deficient, but a serious danger to patients’ care. My experience unfortunately accords with that of others below. He seems to be great with some patients. and dangerously negligent with others, not returning calls that involve serious requests about treatment matters. He will thus dismiss a cancer patient’s question as “not pertinent” and sometimes become quite angry if they repeat it. He focuses on the lab findings, not the person. Dr. Spillane is undoubtedly bright and knowledgeable. His role would probably be best in research , not in patient care. Someone in Dignity Health needs to take notice!

Submitted Dec. 3, 2023

My wife was diagnosed with Stage 2 clear cell carcinoma ovarian cancer one year ago after having surgery to remove a potato sized, malignant tumor from her ovary and several lymph nodes. She was placed under Dr. Spillane's care and went through her first round of chemo. He prescribed drugs that even a quick Google search reveals that my wife's type of cancer is often resistant to platinum based drugs. She saw him a few MINUTES per month. Very little follow up, barely enough face time to get questions answered, etc. Complications arose after the first round of chemo ended and his lack of urgency and passivity have now placed her in grave danger. Two months ago a rash, pain and swelling developed on one of her breasts. He prescribed antibiotics and salve. It got worse and keeps getting worse. Our concerns fell on deaf ears. We finally had to circumvent him to get her a biopsy and ultrasound. The biopsy tested positive for metastatic clear cell ovarian cancer. Spillane's response? He still doubted it. If a loved one is sick and in need of prioritized care, seek out a more engaged, dedicated provider. We are now. Hopefully, it won't be too late. The doctors down at City Of Hope have shown more interest, motivation and empathy towards my wife and they haven't even started treating her yet.

Submitted May 1, 2023

Dr. Spillane is a caring, knowledgeable, and sincere doctor. He listens to your concerns, discusses treatments, and is extremely knowledgeable regarding new and successful cancer treatments.

Submitted April 25, 2023

Cancer markers were taken, but NOT responded to. Breast cancer metastasized to bone in Aug. Treatment began September without results and markers SOARED in Dec. Urgent PET scan called for...over 2 weeks since and Dr Spillane has NOT communicated even after 3 phone calls from patient. TERRIBLY UNPROFESSIONAL...and extremely arrogant for a doctor and/staff to be so poorly managed.

Submitted Jan. 14, 2016

My mother had a rare blood disorder and treated with care as she was sick, but he never returns calls lets his M.A. Do that. Always too busy to truly lusten. When I needed him to sign a form to get hospice in place (mind you he talked to ER doc directly on Saturday & knew it was at that point) it took over 3 days to happen after calls from myself, Hospice then finally me going to office directly to get it sent and only M.A. Greated me not Spillane and I saw him in hallway. He never called me, my father or hospice back to check on my.mother even when told she had died nothing. So caring once can't poke or prod you is not in his ability. If you work in cancer care treatment you should be ready to face the death of your patients and help in the ease of transition to hospice care with quickness. 3 days of waiting was inexcusable. get to another doc out of the area for true help and caring. My Mom should have been sent to an MPN specialist. Again all encompassing care is not a part of Dr. Spillane's capabilities.

Submitted Oct. 19, 2014

I have been a patient of Dr. Spillane's since March 2010. I am here today to write this review because of him and his staff. I was diagnosed with a rare and very aggressive form of breast cancer. I sent my records out to Boston, Loma Linda, MD Anderson and UCLA before I started my treatment since I wanted to be sure I was making the right decision and picking the right "team". You cannot sit back and have no input in your care, YOU have to be proactive. I will agree that in the last year the staff has been overwhelmed with all the cases they are handling and hopefully this will be rectified. Regardless, you will not find better care or a more knowledgeable staff. When there was any question regarding my treatment Dr. Spillane did not hesitate to put my case up to the tumor boards and therefore getting input from many specialists. He encouraged me to seek help to treat my entire body and well being since they were all going to have an impact on the outcome.

Submitted Nov. 14, 2013

More interested in your money than you,staff very poor at follow ups, wife was dieing in hospital and Doctor never even came to see her.

Submitted Feb. 1, 2013

Dr. Spillane is an outstanding doctor. I was diagnosed 5 years ago with Stage III breast cancer. At our first meeting, offered hope and a treatment plan. I obtained a second opinion at a major teaching hospital, which agreed with all his recommendations. I received all my treatments from Dr. Spillane's office. To this day, he always has time for my questions and concerns. He explains things thoroughly and seems to keep up on the latest research. His staff is generally efficient and helpful. To date, in spite of a high-risk diagnosis, I am cancer free! I am very thankful for Dr. Spillane and cannot say enough positive about him.

Submitted Feb. 23, 2012

Agree with the other review. He is so rushed that you feel he just wants to get rid of you. Apparently not interested in the patient at all. The office is extremely tardy in notifying patient of test results. One time they never called me at all & I found out from the lab.

Submitted Aug. 9, 2011

Bottom line is if you have cancer or ANY serious disease, get out of San Luis Obispo for treatment! Spillane does not listen to my concerns, does not offer any other options. On the outside wall of his clinic it reads, "Central Coast Integrative Cancer Care." Well, there is nothing 'integrative' about it. It's all about making money off of you, the patient by frying your body with chemo, then saying, "oh, and we might have to do surgery later." There are other options out there, folks. Try Loma Linda, UCLA or USC - anything but here. They handed me 200 pages of material to read about my treatment. Then, when I questioned why he changed the type of chemo and went to something that is used for recurrent cancers, the doctor said, "Oh, don't pay attention to what's written in those pages." Silly me for reading. You see, I got a promise of a cure and now, Spillane is saying I need surgery (he knew this all along). It's a shame for this county to be so lacking in "health" care.

Submitted Aug. 9, 2010