Regan D. Rostorfer, MD is an oncologist in Ocoee, FL.
Has online care Wheelchair accessible entrance Wheelchair accessible parking lot Wheelchair accessible restroom Restroom Accepts new patients Appointments recommended 
Restaurants
Hotels
Services
Stores
Lawyers
Health
Things To Do
Churches
Transportation
Walmart
17 Reviews on “Regan D. Rostorfer, MD in Ocoee”
At first, I really liked Dr. Rostorfer. He seems knowledgeable and kind, but I’ve since learned that the way he operates is awful. I do not feel safe with him. He doesn’t call patients with test results, doesn’t help them get answers to questions, doesn’t perform proper examinations, does not discuss all viable treatment options with patients, and KNOWINGLY allows a particular radiologist who does not read reports accurately to continue reading his patients PET scans, so much more. (read on) Let me preface this long—but worthwhile—post by saying that I am not new to cancer or how oncologists operate. If I had only ever dealt with Dr. Rostorfer’s office, I might not know how grossly incompetent he and his staff are, but I am well-versed in cancer. This is my 15th year of breast cancer of treatment. I’ve had 3 diagnosis of cancer (2 reoccurrences after the first time); I’ve had 10 surgeries, 7 forms of chemo, radiation, 4 forms of hormone treatment, and I’ve had basically every side effect known to man: heart failure, pulmonary embolisms, neuropathy, anemia, staph infections, cellulitis, and shingles. I’ve had every scan/test you can think of (repeatedly) PET scans, CT scans, MRI’s, Bones Scans, Bone density tests, ultrasounds, mammograms, X rays. I know my stuff it comes to cancer, and nothing about how this office operates is right.
Negligent Examinations: Dr. Rostorfer does examinations over the clothes and bra, which is INSANE because he needs to feel for lumps in the breast and be able look for discoloration and physical changes. You can’t feel for lumps through a padded bra. It’s absurd.
Lack of Communication: I’ve been with him since June of 2021 and NOT ONCE has he called me after a PET scan to discuss the result. Not once; yet, the results post on the patient portal, so I can see them (he knows I can see them and I likely don’t understand the terminology), but he doesn’t bother to call or write a summary of what it means in the patient portal. He makes me wait until my next appointment which could be over a month away. It’s cruel to do that to a stage four cancer patient—make them wait to find out how quickly or slowly they are dying. My New York oncologist has always called me the very same day the results come in. And when I call or message him in the portal, his staff is awful. They are not helpful, and they are rude. I have to call multiple times to follow up to get them to do a simple task, including time-sensitive tasks. I have to beg them to do their job. They clearly don’t understand what it’s like to be a cancer patient.
Failure to Discuss All Treatment Plans:
Prior to moving to Florida, I had an oncologist in New York for 11 years. I travel to see him twice a year. When my cancer first went to my bones, Dr. Rostorfer did not put me on Xgeva, which is used to treat bone cancer. When I went to New York, my NY oncologist asked if I was on Xgeva already. I said no. He was floored that Dr, Rostorfer did not put me on it. Apparently, it is standard practice for treating bone cancer. When I came back, I told Dr. Rostorfer what my NY oncologist suggested, and he agreed that I should be on it. Why did Dr. Rostorfer not suggest it himself?! I, the patient, have to suggest treatments to him, the doctor, in order to get proper treatment? Dr. Rostorfer’s negligence, his failure to discuss all treatment options, is gravely disturbing.
Dr. Rostorfer Went on a Leave of Absence, But I Was Not Notified:
Dr. Rostorfer just went on some sort of leave, but no one in the office called to inform me nor did I receive a message in my patient portal. It’s wildly unprofessional. There is zero communication or transparency with patients. How do you not inform a patient that the doctor is going on a months-long leave and not tell them know who else they can see in his absence? I am supposed to see my oncologist every 6 weeks. Dr. Rostorfer was willing to just let me wait months to be seen by a doctor? He never informed me who I should turn to in the case of an emergency. It’s so unprofessional, it’s almost comical.
Incomplete/Inaccurate Reports: Dr. Rostorfer knows that there is a radiologist who does not read reports properly, and he does nothing to correct the situation or help his patients receive accurate results in a timely manner. Example: There is a radiologist named Dr. Damita Thomas who reads nuclear scans for Orlando Health. DO NOT EVER LET THIS WOMAN READ YOUR REPORTS! Her job is to identify nodules (old and new) and measure their size. She has never written the size of any nodule in my lungs, and there have been several. This is problematic because the main way they detect if a nodule is cancer is by watching to see if it stays the same size (stays stable) or grows. Cancer will not stay stable over time; it grows if not treated properly. I have complained to Dr. Rostorfer and the director of his team, Natalia, about Dr. Damita Thomas’ incompetence, explaining how her reading affects my diagnosis and my treatment plan. I have told Dr. Rostorfer that I am not comfortable with her reading my scans, that I don’t feel safe with her reading my reports because of her failure to include all the necessary information. I am surprised that HE was okay with her reports. I was only one in the room with concern, which should have been a red flag for me. When he told me he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) do anything about it, I went to Dr. Patel (I believe he’s the head of radiology, though I’m not desire of his exact title), but he made excuses for Dr. Damita Thomas and said it was normal. It’s not! As far as I know, he did not do anything to correct the situation for other people. I then went to the risk manager for the radiology department, a woman named Nancy. She was pleasant and told me that Dr. Damita Thomas would never read my reports again, which is the only reason I agreed to keep doing scans at Orlando Health. So basically, they fixed the problem for me, but not for the rest of their patients. At this rate, Dr. Damita Thomas is going to kill someone—if she hasn’t already—and Dr. Rostorfer and his team are complicit. A real doctor would fight for their patients and, at the very least, reach out with results of tests to explain it to them. I honestly feel like if I stayed with Dr. Rostorfer, he would let me die. Cut to this week; I had a PET scan. Dr. Damita Thomas read it, and once again, she failed to mention the size of the nodules we are watching in my lungs. She mentions new nodules and does not include the size! Again! Her report reads, “There has been interval development of metabolically active pulmonary nodules at the right lung base with new focal activity also seen in the left lower lung field.” Anyone who has ever had cancer knows that it is imperative to know the size of tumors/lesions/masses/=nodules. How am I supposed to know if these are growing in future tests? I have complained about this woman three times to her superiors, but she not learned from her mistakes. Unacceptable. No one is holding her accountable or working to correct the situation. After receiving the results via My Chart, I called the radiology department and said, “There should be a note in my chart. I was assured that this radiologist would never read my report again. But she did and she read it insufficiently again. I need another radiologist to read it.” I was trying to correct the hospital’s mistake, but they told me I could not make that request and that it needed to come from my doctor. So I was at the mercy of Dr. Rostorfer and his team to step up and help me. Spoiler alert, they didn’t! All Dr. Rostorfer had to do was issue a simple amendment request, asking for a second read, to correct a mistake that never should have happened in the first place. It’s effortless. I spoke with a receptionist who said she would put through the request as “high priority” because she understood that I wanted clarity on my test before the end of day due to the high level of stress and anxiety from reading a very concerning report that could potentially mean the cancer has spread to my lungs. I waited 1.5 hours, and called back, but it was not done. She put in a second request as “high priority.” By the end of the business day, there was no amended reading in my patient portal. I settled in for a long, anxious night of fear, sobbing and very little sleep. I waited until the next day at 11:00 am to call again and check in, giving them 3 hours in the morning to handle it. I called, and once again, it had not ben done. This is a pattern for them. I had been as patient as long as I could. I informed them that they were grossly incompetent and asked what exactly I needed to do to get someone over there to actually care about their patients and do their job? The woman seemed annoyed that I was so upset. She had no compassion for how stressful the situation was and how I was feeling. I told her that I should not have to keep calling and beg someone to help me and that this was unacceptable. I asked if I needed to come there in person and stand in the lobby and scream my doctor’s name until he came out and actually talked to me. I said, and I quote, “I am in great emotional distress right now. I need you to help me.” Instead of recognizing a patient in anguish and offering assistance, she was rude and nasty. These receptionists are clearly not trauma informed. She should have immediately addressed my feelings and asked what she could do to help, or if she could transfer me to a counselor or a manager or say she would have Dr. Rostorfer call them back, even if it meant at the end of the day after this appointment. Nope, instead she basically victim blamed me. Let me just say, the staff in the front office is a direct reflection of Dr. Rostorfer. The buck stops with him. He needs to make sure his staff is treating his patients properly. Hours later, a director from Rostorfer’s team named Natalia finally called me back and was also rude and unhelpful. She also didn’t care about the emotional distress their negligence was causing me. She had the audacity to say, “Dr. Rostorfer is very concerned that you threatened to scream in the lobby, and I may fracture the relationship.” My response, “Oh, it’s broken. I’m never coming back. I don’t feel safe and I don’t feel seen. But maybe if someone in that office, or Dr Rostorfer himself, actually did their job, I wouldn’t have to threaten to come there and yell at people! I have told you that I am a state of panic and emotional distress and I need someone to simply do their job and send the request for a second read. Maybe Dr. Rostorfer should step up and call me to go over the results that he knows I have read and am upset about. Maybe if he acted like a doctor and helped his patients, I wouldn’t be this upset!” I have severed ties with Dr. Rostorfer, and I am looking into legal recourse so that no one else ever has to go through this. Having cancer is stressful enough. No patient should have their doctor making things worse. My NY oncologist is appalled at the way Dr. Rostorfer operates and by the PET scans reports written by Dr. Damita Thomas. His actual words, “This report is awful. It’s written so poorly. I don’t want you ever seeing this radiologist ever again.” That’s a doctor that actually cares about his patients. Now, when I have PET scans, I don’t trust Orlando Health, the radiologist, Dr. Rostorfer or his team. I physically go get my PET scans from medical records (the films) and mail them to my NY oncology to have his radiology team read the results. No patient should ever have to do that just to receive accurate data on their health status. It’s unacceptable. It’s dangerous, possibly fatal. When my NY oncology gets the results, he calls me from his personal cell phone at the end of day, sometimes as late as 7:00 pm, because he cares about his parents and wants them to have answers. That’s a real doctor. Dr. Rostorfer could learn a thing or two. To reiterate, Dr. Rostorfer has NEVER, NOT ONCE called me to discuss anything or give me test results. He wants you to wait till your next appointment, which could be weeks or months away. It’s absurd to keep a cancer patient waiting that long for results. It’s cruel.
Overall:
Everything about my experience with Dr. Rostorfer and his office has been a nightmare. I was hesitant to find another oncologist here in Florida because I didn’t want to have to start all over, and I have been relying on my oncologist in NY to pick up what Dr. Rostorfer lets slip through the cracks. But I need a doctor here that is capable, competent and compassionate. I don’t think that’s asking too much. This is a life-or-death situation for me, and all his patents. Dr. Rostorfer and his staff—especially that unsympathetic director Natalia—need to understand the emotional component that comes along with cancer, the trauma it generates, and the distress it causes. They need to have empathy for their patients who are simply asking for help. If Dr. Rostorfer and his receptionist can’t do that, then they are in the wrong profession. They are hurting their patients. So, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND NOT GOING TO DR. ROSTORFER. Save yourself the trouble that would come.
Dr. Rostorfer, if you or anyone at your office is reading this, I hope you don’t take this defensively but instead use this as a chance to learn from your mistakes, course correct and do better in the future. It’s not just your reputation at stake. Lives are at stake. I’m saving my own life and finding a new doctor, one who’s not afraid to pick up the phone or help their patients received proper medical care.