Marcelle Cedars

I am still under her care and am super grateful to be a patient. Because she is so in demand she - or her care team - can forget details. I advocate for myself and ask lots of questions for clarity as a result.

I have three....Stay on top of your protocol and ask questions. Ask to speak directly with Dr. Cedars. oh! And ask to have her perform your embryo transfer.

I feel like she actually listened to my concerns and would address them with factual data. Really put me at ease.

My first round wasn’t successful and didn’t make it to transfer - insufficient lining - so now I’m in the midst of my second round. I am a donor egg recipient, so I was on a Lupron protocol, then the estrogen patches, and after my lining check I was on PIO. Due to my lining I had an ERA which was super helpful.

My primary nurse has always been amazing. There is one member of the team that often forgets details - you just have to stay on top of your protocol.

I’ve been to two other clinics prior to UCSF. It is a clear winner for me. The front desk staff is attentive, I never have a long wait, and I feel like they are respectful of my time and schedule as a working professional. It’s a very soothing space as well - sometimes there are a lot of patients in the waiting room but it never seems crowded or hectic.

My insurance provided two lifetime rounds with 50% off of services, which was great. For DEIVF insurance doesn’t cover donor costs, which was roughly over 13K; however, costs for myself (around 9K) were 50% covered by insurance, including meds.

Dr Cedars insisted on one embryo. I have a colleague who had a difficult twin pregnancy, so I understood Dr. Cedars’s perspective.

Dr Cedars was empathetic and understanding. She patiently answered our questions and walked us through each process. I felt like she had a wealth of knowledge about current fertility medicine practices.

Ask direct questions and expect direct answers.

UCSF CRH is a big place, they see a lot of patients. I didn't necessarily want to form personal relationships with the staff, but I also didn't want to be another random warm body. I felt they struck a reasonable balance in this.

Six IUIs with 50mg Clomid and HCG trigger. Lupron demi-halt IVF cycle, two weeks of stimulation/superovulation with Gonal-F and Menopur, HCG trigger. ICSI and potential use of microfluidic chip (FERTILE) as part of a clinical trial -- we were blindly randomized, so I don't know if our sample went through the usual preparation or the chip process.

During 2016 and 2017, I took part in two clinical trials. For both, the research coordinator, Becca Wong, was my main point of contact. Becca was great throughout, easily accessible, compassionate, funny. Even during her own pregnancy, I never felt anxious or envious. When we moved on to IVF, Jill Ford and Ruthie were our main contacts. I met each of them once only, but we spoke on the phone several times and emailed a lot.

I am very grateful to CRH. I learnt a lot from the staff. The process of going through six IUIs over two years, as a clinical trial patient, meant I paid $0 for this treatment, and received great care. It was so nice not to even think about insurance or payment during this part of our treatment. My final round of IUI in 2017 resulted in a positive test. My blood HCG tests were low and rose slowly. For a while we were in limbo, anxious especially about an ectopic pregnancy. All throughout, Becca was available and supportive. I met with Dr Cedars at this time too, who was candid about the chances of the pregnancy going to term. When it was clear we were undergoing a missed miscarriage, Dr Cedars performed the manual aspiration. When we moved over to IVF, a few things fell through the cracks. Becca had advised I have my OB order some blood tests, including for STDs, and immunity to several diseases. Nobody told me that my varicella (chicken pox) immunity was low and I ought to be re-vaccinated. It wasn't until Jill was running through the pre-IVF checklist that she asked me the result of these tests. (I had allowed my OB's office to share the results with UCSF CRH, so I was under the impression they'd already seen them). The two vaccines and a month "on the bench" pushed back our start date. Also: at one point Dr Cedars mentioned we'd be eligible for a study which would cover the cost of our stimulation medications. I'd done some research and knew this was potentially a large cost. A few months went by (see above) and I asked the study's coordinator if we were enrolled. He responded that we were ineligible, and that he'd told us that several months ago. This obviously wasn't the case. Fortunately, we were able to buy our meds from Disco Rex, the Walgreens Speciality Pharmacy in Palo Alto, for under $300 total. This was thanks to the 340B Network Pharmacy Program, as cash-paying outpatients of UCSF. Nobody mentioned this program to me at any point until I was prescribed the drugs, and it would definitely have influenced our clinic selection decision. I wish CRH made a bigger deal of it! The only other complaint I have is a very minor one: the IVF calendar I received was ugly and a little bit confusing. It looked unprofessional, with no branding, lots of different fonts/text sizes, etc. Random reminders were scattered on various days. Other paperwork we received was also oddly-formatted or a copied copy. I feel sure UCSF has communication staff who would be able to create more professional templates.

Stimulation monitoring: $4,267 Egg retrieval $2,240 Fertilization and culture $3,365 Embryo transfer $2,810 Embryo cryopreservation (1 year) $1,753 I also paid a few hundred dollars for two ultrasounds after pregnancy was confirmed. As a clinical trial patient, I underwent six IUIs at zero cost. I was also treated for the missed miscarriage, including the manual aspiration procedure, at no cost. There was some confusion as to the status of these treatments, at one point I made a last-minute appointment to see my OB to take over my care. I'm not sure, but I believe CRH staff pulled some strings in order to have my care covered by the study, which, obviously, I greatly appreciate.

We only ever considered transferring a single embryo.

Dr. Cedars saw me in 2015 for a consultation and full PCOS work up and was realistic but very hopeful. In 2018 when my husband and I wanted to start trying I made an appointment and she didn't make me jump through any hoops to get treatment she just read my file and knew with my PCOS it would be silly to wait and started me on treatment. My insurance was not understanding that despite my age I couldn't "just keep trying" so she scheduled a peer-to-peer and went to bat for me to get my treatments covered. She then called me after and said "they understand much better now, we got you 4 cycles covered and if those don't work we will get more." She is really incredible.

Make any appointment months before you think you may need it - she books up fast (I waited 3 months for my appointment.)

Dr. Cedars is a really wonderful mixture of realistic and hopeful. She knew I was upset once and called me at 6 one evening to offer encouragement.

I have PCOS so my eggs and follicles are fine but I do not ovulate and do not have a period unless I am on birth control or other period-inducing medication. Dr. Cedars has used this for 2 cycles and I have ovulated but have not become pregnant yet. Cycle 1: (Medroxyprogesterone) Provera 5mg x 12 days Await period Letrozole (Femara) 2.5mg x 5 days Start intercourse every other day starting CD 10 then every other day until you ovulate then sex on that day and the following day. Complete pregnancy test in 15 days. The second cycle was the exact same but she doubled my Femara dose to 5mg. Next time around (if I am not pregnant this cycle) we will do the same thing but add in a transvaginal ultrasound to see what my ovaries are doing. So far, I have no become pregnant at all but Dr. Cedars says "there is still a lot of hope" which as been very helpful.

I am not sure which nurse is my primary but I have worked with both Jill and Ruth. They are very kind, Ruth especially is very energetic and positive. My only complaint is that they have not been very good with phone or e-mail communication. There have been a few times where my emails went unanswered for several days. Other than that they are great.

The clinic has 2 different offices. The one of Illinois St in Mission Bay is FAR superior than the old Mt. Zion clinic. I'm sure they are both perfectly clean and sanitary but the Mission Bay Clinic is just so much more inviting, clean looking, and also I think they have more advanced technology but I could be wrong about that.

Ok for the good there was one billing person who was helpful however never even thought of being a peer-to-peer until I asked which seems odd (especially because it worked). Once I did ask for it she happily coordinated and Dr. Cedars did it and it worked! Super thankful for that. Ok this is where stuff really lagged. The clinic initially charged me $747 out of pocket for a transvaginal ultrasound. I later thought it odd so called my insurance and turns out whoever does billing never even sent the request to my insurance. It took me weeks but eventually after fighting it out with UCSF (nobody from the main billing center ever responded to my 3-5 phone calls and 2 emails) and my insurance rep they charged my insurance appropriately and refunded the bill entirely. Had I not had the skills to fight it though or been struggling with anxiety or depression like so many women in my situation I could have never gotten that money back.

Dr. Ceders is a trail blazer in this field and I was very excited and eager to work with her. She was exceptionally knowledgeable and informative. She would take calculated risks and use data and science as her guide. She was compassionate and kind in her engagement with us and we felt she had great bed-side manners.

She will tell it to you straight and use data and science - not sales tactics - to help you make decisions. She listens well and incorporates your input and concerns in her process without compromising your care and what’s best for you.

Dr. Ceders was incredibly kind and compassionate yet very honest, realistic and pragmatic in her approach. She used data and science to drive her decisions yet she was willing to try new approaches to see what could work. She was available whenever needed and would take time to answer all of my questions. She never made us feel rushed and ensured all of our questions and concerns were addressed. She never over promised and was fact-based. We trusted her expertise, knowledge and track record. I would recommend her for anyone.

My procedure included a pre-cycle of estrogen patches the cycle before retrieval. Then during retrieval cycle she prescribed Clomid for 5 days with Gonal F for about 10 days and Ganirelix and Menopur for last 3-5 days before triggering. We retrieved the eggs for inseminination then growing for 7 days and PGS testing then freezing until ready for transfer. This was due to low ovarian reserve and therefore were ‘harvesting’ as much as possible to get the number we wanted.

Teona was by far another main reason I decided to work with Dr. Ceders-aside from Dr. Ceders’ excellent credentials. Teona is a very kind, genuine, compassionate and down to earth Nurse. She is funny, sweet and excellent bedside manners. You connect with Teona very quickly and you feel cared for by her. She has an ease and positive vibe about her that makes her very likeable and approachable. She is very organized, responsive and diligent. She also told us about the out of pocket discount on medications which UCSF has that saved us at least 5K each round. I recommend working with her 100%.

Clinic is clean, organized and a well oiled machine. They can see well over 100 patients on any given day and so they have a nice routine and professional set up. The receptionists, nurses, and staff are all super friendly and nice. They know what they are doing and they do it very well. The finance team was more difficult to work with and less responsive. The most consistent problem I had was dealing with finanacial counselors who were hardly available and again not very available or accommodating.

Out of pocket about 14K plus about $300-400 for meds, plus 2.5K separate payment for PGS testing to outside company. Insurance out of pocket about 2-5K for each round. I did 5 rounds of retrieval only, two out of pocket and 3 with insurance.

Dr. Ceders recommends single embryo transfer due to better mother and baby health and so we will go with her recommendation.

She is was very compassionate, understanding, patient, and responsive . She was very responsive in to all our questions. She was very helpful giving info on various studies, and making sure we were coming connects to anyone else in the UCSF administration we needed to for the various departments

Be honest, ask her any question you want about ivf, you will get great responses and feel well informed about your care

She listened to me and what my concerns were before giving any suggestions for further treatment . She sympathized with my emotions and took them into account during our consultations

Demihalt protocol , with omnitrope to help increase number of follicles being stimulated

Current nurse Teona gurkan is great. There seems to be high turnover though and I've had two other nurses on the first cycle with dr cedars and three nurses with my other dr 's 3 cycles

Strengths- certain doctors like Dr cedars are really great, personable , make the process a little easier to get thru. Some of the admin staff though are a challenge to work with . One nurse was inconsistent , gave contradictory info from past nurses and could not explain why the differences, was not helpful in answering questions and did not give clear calendars. One cycle she gave me 3-4 versions because she had to keep fixing items. The genetic counselor Molly Dunn was incompetent and rude. She was incentive and careless and gave us the wrong info, initially telling us we had 3 Pgs normal embryos when the reality was our 3 embryos were aneuploidy. She corrected herself but did not even apologize acknowledging how hurtful her mistake was. She refused to schedule a call with us to discuss results and only sent emails . She argued with me on the phone when trying to explain herself.

Marcelle Cedars exceeded my expectations in every way. She was amazing, and though I failed IVF and have not been able to have another child, I would still recommend her and UCSF very highly. My husband and I were very diligent about finding our doctor and we met with several, but we immediately connected with Marcelle. I always felt so lucky to have found the combination of incredible, cutting edge, world-class medicine and a lovely, compassionate bed side manner. Marcelle was incredible, and ultimately when it came time to stop pursuing another child she was very honest, but kind and she sat with us while we cried. I'm forever grateful for her understanding and kindness during the darkest days of my life. In addition to Marcelle, I saw many members of the UCSF fertility team. I could not have been more impressed with every one of them. There was only one doctor I didn't like, but they worked it so I didn't have to see him. One of the best doctors during that time was Dr. Zamah. Following a retrieval he had to tell me that we didn't get any eggs. That was a really, really hard day, but he sat with me, encouraged me and also showed a level of compassion I didn't expect from UCSF. I always said... I expected amazing medicine, I didn't expect the kindness. It's painful to go back and remember that time, because unlike many other women, I was not successful and it was the single most painful experience of my life, but I'm more than happy to share my story with any woman going through it. It's not such a unique club anymore, at least not in the Bay Area, but the pain is unique and only those of us who have walked this road truly understand what it's like. Thank you for putting this together.... I hope it helps many women!

I really don't have any advice. I just loved her and thought so highly of her!

Yes, I always felt known by Marcelle and her team. I found them all to be kind, compassionate and understanding.

Jill was ALWAYS so responsive and organized. She answered every question and was always happy to follow-up. The day she had to call me with my pregnancy test results and they were negative, I could just feel how sorry she was she had to give me the news. I felt like she was always rooting for me. When we stopped pursuing IVF, she set me up with the on-staff psychiatrist to talk to me. Jill was great and to this day I feel like I can reach out with any question and she'd get right back to me!

I was impressed both with Dr. Cedars' communication and her creativity in approaching my treatment. I'm very evidence-based, and I love how she pulled up research on her computer to show me what the current evidence is on IVF. But she wasn't just a data whiz, she also listened to my experience at my previous clinic and talked about why their approach might not have worked well for me. Then she explained how her approach would be different, and we immediately saw better results. Whenever I was able to see her in clinic or for a transfer, I felt comforted.

Insist as much as you can to have her do your retrieval(s) or transfer(s) personally. She's a busy woman so you have to assert yourself. But she's so worth it.

Dr. Cedars was willing to discuss my prognosis and explain the science behind her advice. She was empathetic and kind.

Her approach was to decrease my doses because my previous clinic had me on the highest doses possible and we weren't getting many follicles. Her theory was that I was overstimulated, and that was driving down the quality (and quantity) of eggs. So lower stim doses.

All of the nursing staff were good. I always felt they could have been a little warmer, because I was always in such a fragile state, but none of them were unkind.

The front desk can be frustrating to deal with. They feel much more institutional than the rest of the staff, and it's here that you really realize you're dealing with a university hospital. Finance in particular can be a big pain. If you have a partner or friend who can advocate for you to deal with the finance people and even for scheduling, that may save you some stress.

Approximately $12k per fresh IVF cycle

The very best. I want E V E R Y O N E we know to go see Marcelle Cedars. She is a miracle worker and generally an incredible person. The most human doctor we've encountered in this very fraught field

GO SEE HER!

Dr. Marcelle Cedars was relentlessly human with us at every turn. We never felt like she was annoyed or rushed - rather, she took time to explain everything to us and even to explain historical aspects to us. We have never experienced care like hers. It was the most incredible experience amidst an otherwise painful and challenging experience.

We finally found success using a luteal phase start. This way, they were able to catch the follicles before just one was recruited. It was a brilliant pivot when we kept having just one or two dominant follicles. As a result, we were able to recruit 7 mature eggs, all of which fertilized and grew to day 3. Just 4 made it to day 5. The other KEY thing about UCSF/Marcelle Cedars unlike previous experiences is her willingness to pivot when things weren't going as she or we had hoped. There was next to no ego or pretense. Just the very best care every time.

Jill Ford is equally awesome and human and all around an incredible care giver. Smart, compassionate, genuine, human.

Beautiful space Affordable compared to private clinics Great care all around Quick to call with test results Private post op rooms Views of the Bay Waiting rooms got a little crowded and the reading materials could be updated but who cares, really.

18k

One healthy baby!

She is very patient and present which was a nice change from the other doctors I’ve seen for infertility. She was willing to try new protocols and changed things in cycle as new things came up. I also felt she was very talented with procedures and I had the least amount of discomfort when she performed egg retrieval

Don’t be afraid to ask questions and keep in touch in-cycle. You can email your nurse who will contact your doctor with any concerns.

Dr Cedars is very compassionate and I felt like we were collaborating on my treatment plan

I have DOR and was doing mini IVF cycles and banking embryos for transfer. She had me start with oral Clomid and then add minimal stims.

The nurses have been very attentive and responsive to emails and phone calls. The nurses in the surgical suite were incredibly kind and encouraging

The clinic is newly constructed and feels like a spa. The lab and embryology suite are state of the art which is in part why we chose UCSF. I appreciated how easy it was to get an appointment and how early the appointments start (6:30am) so I could be seen before work

We paid out of pocket at UCSF. Mini IVf cycles cost around 5-6k

Very experienced, good bedside manner, adjusted information to both my knowledge level and interest (medical field, high detail desired) and my husband's (no medical training, only basics desired). She only does follow-ups with failed cycles- I wish we had one more mtg afterwards.

Ask every question- she'll take the time to answer. Express your fears, she can reassure you.

Dr. Cedars was warm, knowledgeable and I never felt rushed in our consultations. She made extra appointments with me as necessary when we were considering our transfer options once the treatment cycle had started but before retrieval. She was empathic and helped me feel good about making the difficult decision to cancel a cycle (at almost age 43 time was tight!) when my grandmother fell ill so I could guarantee travel in case of her passing (which did happen).

estrogen priming antagonist protocol; successful, identical twins

Clinic coordinators are fantastic- very supportive and helpful. Lots of time with primary Dr before transfer, but random nurses each visit after. Overall very positive experience, would strongly recommend.

Discount for UCSF employee

She suggested transferring all embryos if 5 or fewer at Day 3, based on 20% chance at my age (42) of healthy embryo; if 6 or more at Day 3 we hoped to grow to Day 6 for PGS. I was scared of transferring 5 embryos, but took her advice and it worked.

I appreciated Dr. Cedars approach to our care at UCSF. She was warm, but realistic about setting expectations. She was very familiar with the latest techniques and research, but did not recommend extra treatments when she felt the cost outweighed the potential benefit. Ultimately she told us to plan for two IVF cycles. When the first cycle failed, as we knew it could, she made adjustments to our protocol, clearly explaining with research and statistics why these changes could potentially help. Before our second cycle I questioned whether or not it was worth trying again due to my poor egg quality. She was very honest in her assessment but encouraged us to not give up yet. I am happy we trusted her. We are now less than two months away from welcoming our first child, with three very good quality embryos frozen to potentially try for a sibling later. Given our diagnosis - very few eggs due to diminished ovarian reserve, endometriosis, and severe male factor infertility - this outcome is better than we ever really expected.

Dr. Cedars is brilliant, compassionate, and someone who is the absolute best at practicing evidence-based medicine. Although my own egg cycles did not result in children, they were quite impressive in how many perfect 3-day embryos we managed to get out of the number of follicles I had. And though our donor cycles did result in 2 amazing boys, the retrieval and fertilization numbers were not as good as we had expected. Dr. Cedars acknowledged this and took responsibility for perhaps overstimming the donor. But in the end, it mattered not to us because we are glad we didn't have leftover embryos. Dr. Cedars seems to care about everything from the science and statistics to the emotional experience of those of us ttc.

Don't be afraid to ask her lots of questions and let her know how you feel.

Jill was very responsive via email and phone. When I had a strong positive beta that went south, I could hear the distress and compassion from her when she had to tell me. I know she felt bad because the original call was a "congrats, US in 6 weeks!" Then she had to tell me about the numbers not doubling and give me a shred of hope but still communicating the reality that the pregnancy was not likely to continue.

I dealt with her briefly because I was living in Chicago and flew back to SF for the transfer. I mostly dealt with her nurse. But my few interactions with her were positive. My case wasn't complicated.

Make friends with her nurse! She's awesome.

She's very friendly and kind. I was only treated by her briefly- one transfer- so I didn't get to know her well. But she was caring and among the most experienced doctors on staff.

I only did one FET with PGS-tested embryos with Dr. Cedars. I was planning to do a single embryo but it thawed poorly, so we thawed a second one and put both. I got pregnant (I'm at 6 weeks now).

I love Teona! Super responsive, personable, fun to talk to. I depended on her especially since I was out of town.

I like the new location. Front desk staff super attentive and sweet. Nurses too. All-around excellent.

I had two embryos remaining in the freezer, both PGS tested. One looked good (50% chance) and one not so good (15%). The 50% chance one thawed poorly on the day of the transfer, so we ended up putting both. The poor quality embryo appears to have stuck.

She's a great doctor with lots of experience as she is the head of the practice. She travels a lot to conferences which means she's not always as available - but that also makes her more savvy about new treatments and technologies.

Schedule a face to face visit with dr Cedars to make sure you understand her treatment plan. If you like to see the same doctor throughout the treatment, you may have to be patient and wait until she is in town for long enough.

Dr Cedars took the time to talk to us and explain everything to us. She seemed to care about us as individuals and really thought about personalizing the treatment, as opposed to just doing the regular protocol that is done for most women at the clinic.

Very organized and responded to emails very quickly which was critical to me. Especially when waiting for pregnancy test results!!!

Dr. Cedars is a great face to the clinic but it seems she and UCSF are more interested in research and attending conferences then actually attending to patients. If you want personal care, don't go here. You will be a number and don't even get me started with their billing department.

If you need "light assistance" and don't have anything "wrong" with you - then go here, i.e. get prescribe clomid, otherwise, don't waste time, and find a clinic that cares. Also, if you're over 35, don't waste your time here.

Under Dr. Cedars care, I only saw her twice, in her office - the very first time and then a requested follow up meeting (for an additional $130). She was never truly my doctor as she never saw me in the examining room - EVER!

IUI only. She didn't think I was a candidate for IVF. If I could do it over again, I'd skip the IUI, and go straight to IVF. And according to Resolve, women over 35 shouldn't waste their time with IUI's. The exact procedure Dr. Cedars recommended for me.

Ruthie - she always seemed "out to lunch" like this was always her first time or something.

Already did.

IUI costs range from $800-$1,000 a cycle.

n/a

(+) Knowledgeable, Kind, Thorough, Straight-shooter yet also lighthearted/upbeat, Tireless, Seems like she genuinely enjoys what she does (-) Not readily available, especially during cycles using my own eggs. Seems separated from the treatment.

Dr. Cedars is busy, but when you have her attention she gives it to you fully. She spends time and will call at the end of a busy day to explain things further.

Mini IVF DonorEgg

On the ball, a direct line to Dr. Cedars. Smart, compassionate, efficient.

Big, can feel impersonal at times, but excellent care and caring doctors.

Donor Egg Cycle - $22K Mini IVF cycle - $7000

Like I said, she did not review my records before appointments and would mis-remember dates and other information, which seemed to me quite critical for the course of treatment.

See someone else in the practice. She is overloaded and will likely not give your case the attention it needs.

The care team was very poorly organized. Dr Cedars did not always review my records before appointments, and on multiple occasions, made mistakes, including regarding my prescription dosage, timing of blood tests, etc.

Poor organization. It was really a problem that I was not assigned one particular person on the staff. No one took responsibility for reviewing my records and keeping me on top of testing.