BUILDING A HEALTHCARE NETWORK & cOMMUNITY
2012 HAMMERAS GROUP
2022 CANCER TEAMWORK RESPONSE
2023 THE CTR NETWORK
“The pressures facing doctors and medical centers today can add to long wait times and stress during a new cancer diagnosis or complex health issue. Therefore, I work with leading hospitals and specialists to provide guidance that improves the patient experience and may positively influence health outcomes.”
For over three decades, the Hammeras Group, led by Candy Hammeras, has worked with medical professionals, physicians, and hospitals throughout Southern California to improve the patient experience. Building trust within the medical community and through her in-depth knowledge of the healthcare system, Candy developed a network that puts the patient's needs first. With the support of trusted advisors and top medical facilities in Southern California, Cancer Teamwork Response (CTR), a nonprofit, was launched in 2022. CTR was designed to work alongside the Hammeras Group. Together our mission is to improve patient outcomes by connecting the medical community through unique collaborations that work efficiently.
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Patient Guidance Services
Hammeras Group provides independent, non-clinical patient guidance for individuals and families navigating cancer and other complex health issues.
Led by Candy Hammeras and Michelle Arroyo, our work supports both adults and children, with specialized services available for youth patients and their families. Their combined experience informs an approach grounded in preparation, clarity, and patient priorities.
Operating independently from any medical facility allows Hammeras Group to collaborate freely with leading physicians, specialists, and medical centers—always guided by what best serves the patient.
Patients First: Your Partner in Preparation.
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Navigating Our Healthcare System
Facing a cancer diagnosis or complex health issue is overwhelming—especially when patients are expected to absorb medical information, make decisions, and navigate administrative processes all at once. Being prepared can make a meaningful difference, helping patients move through care with greater clarity, confidence, and continuity.
Hammeras Group supports patients by helping them prepare for what lies ahead and navigate the practical complexities of the healthcare system. We work behind the scenes with the medical community to reduce unnecessary friction and administrative burden, so patients and families can focus their energy where it matters most: treatment, recovery, and well-being.
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A Healthcare Collaborative: CTR Nework
The CTR Network grew out of Hammeras Group’s long-standing work building trusted relationships with physicians, specialists, and medical professionals across Southern California. These connections form a collaborative foundation focused on improving how patients experience care—both within and beyond any single institution.
At its core, this work reflects a consistent commitment to putting patients first. Through the CTR Network, that commitment extends beyond individual cases to shared learning, coordination, and collaboration across the healthcare community. By sharing experience, insight, and practical guidance, the network supports healthcare providers in strengthening patient-centered care and improving how complex cases are navigated.
A Healthcare Collaborative
How The CTR Network Works
The Hammeras Group, through its nonprofit, Cancer Teamwork Response (CTR), is proud to have formed a collaborative, the CTR Network, with the top 20 ranked medical centers nationwide and the best in California for cancer patient care.
At the heart of the CTR Network lies our guiding principle: through this unprecedented collaboration, cancer patients will gain unparalleled access to the best possible diagnoses and treatments in a streamlined, time-sensitive manner that prioritizes patients above all else.
The Hammeras Group and CTR thank the visionaries at the participating medical facilities for what we hope will serve as a model for patient-centered cancer care networks nationwide. Let us join forces to ensure that we always put patients first.
Navigating Our Healthcare System Since 2012
Making A Dream Reality
Candy Hammeras has spent 20+ years in hospital management as a patient and physician relations executive. She recognized that unsatisfied patients negatively impact hospital scores, yet she wanted to treat patients and their families as individuals, not just as hospital patients. To address this gap in the healthcare system, Candy left the hospital environment and formed a consulting organization, Hammeras Group, LLC, to focus on improving patient relations in California hospitals. As requests for private patient advocacy increased, Candy also began to assist patients with rare or complex disease diagnoses, most of them cancer. To address the lack of access to specialized care for patients with certain insurance, Candy founded Cancer Teamwork Response. This charity fully funds second opinions and patient advocacy for cancer patients regardless of their ability to pay. Cancer Teamwork Response coordinates care with the top experts efficiently, privately, and quickly and relies on a "pay it forward" approach from patients, families, and community members who want to help other newly diagnosed cancer patients.
Full post available at the CTR’s blog to read the full post:
PATIENTS
If you or someone you know is facing a cancer diagnosis and needs an advocate, don't hesitate to contact our nonprofit partner, Cancer Teamwork Resonse, for help today. You’re not alone, and we’re here to help.
WALK WITH ME
Songs of Hope With Mike Garson
Walk with Me is an uplifting album co-produced by Mike Garson & Candy Hammeras to ease the journey for cancer patients everywhere. The album premiered in August 2022 at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, available on platforms worldwide.
