Most of us hope we never need the services of Comprehensive Blood & Cancer Center.

But if cancer has ever touched your family, your friends, your neighbors, or perhaps even yourself, there is a good chance that Dr. Ravi Patel's vision helped shape that journey.

 

For more than four decades, Dr. Patel has quietly transformed cancer care in Kern County, ensuring local families could receive world-class treatment without leaving the people and places they love.

 

As Comprehensive Blood & Cancer Center enters a new chapter through its recent partnership with Dignity Health, we felt that this would be an appropriate time to reflect on the remarkable legacy of the physician and neighbor who made it all possible. 

 

When Dr. Patel founded CBCC in 1984, specialized cancer care was far less accessible than it is today. Patients often traveled hours away from home for treatment and were forced to visit multiple facilities for different aspects of their care, adding emotional, physical, and financial strain during already difficult times.

 

Dr. Patel believed Kern County families deserved better. He believed that exceptional cancer care should be available close to home, in one place, surrounded by the support systems and familiar comforts that matter most during life's hardest moments.

 

That belief became the foundation of CBCC. 

 

What began as a small 1,200-square-foot office with a single employee would eventually become one of the region's most significant healthcare organizations and a source of hope for countless local families. 

 

Dr. Patel's vision expanded quickly.

 

Shortly after opening his practice, he welcomed a second medical oncologist, Dr. Alan Cartmell, whose knowledge, compassion, and dedication would help shape the future of oncology care in Kern County for nearly four decades. Dr. Cartmell retired just last year after spending almost 40 years caring for local patients and families. 

 

As the practice continued to grow, so did the need for additional space and services. In 1998, Kern County celebrated the groundbreaking of the comprehensive cancer center on Truxtun Avenue that residents know today. The new campus allowed multiple aspects of cancer care to be brought together in a single location — an innovative concept at the time that dramatically improved the patient experience. 

 

Additional physician leadership soon joined the organization, including medical oncologists Dr. Shawn Shambaugh and Dr. David Kanamori, along with radiation oncologist Dr. Giridhar Gorla, all of whom continue serving local patients today. 

 

Over the years, CBCC continued expanding the services available to patients, adding in-house diagnostic imaging, laboratory and pathology services, radiation treatment, infusion therapy, and surgical oncology services. The goal remained simple: minimize barriers and simplify treatment for patients and families navigating cancer care. 

 

In 2007, the campus expanded once again with the opening of the CBCC Breast Health Center, offering preventive screenings, breast health education, genetic counseling, and expert breast surgical oncology services to women throughout the region. 

 

Just one year later, CBCC introduced another major advancement by bringing the region's first and only CyberKnife Radiosurgery System to Kern County.

 

Despite its name, CyberKnife does not involve surgery or incisions. Instead, the technology delivers highly targeted radiation with extraordinary precision, allowing physicians to treat certain tumors while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

 

For local patients, it meant access to some of the world's most advanced treatment technology without leaving Bakersfield. 

 

Today, CBCC has grown into a regional healthcare leader with more than 250 staff members, 13 physicians, and 11 advanced practice practitioners providing coordinated, patient-centered care under one roof. 

 

Dr. Patel understood that advancing cancer care required more than technology alone. He recognized the importance of bringing cutting-edge clinical research opportunities to Kern County, allowing local patients access to promising new therapies without having to leave their community.

 

That vision led to the creation of CBCC Global Research, the organization's clinical trials and research division focused on advancing innovative treatments across oncology and multiple additional specialties. Through clinical trials, local patients gained access to emerging therapies and groundbreaking treatment options often years before they became widely available elsewhere. 

 

Over time, the research division evolved into a globally recognized clinical research organization conducting Phase I through Phase IV clinical trials while collaborating with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies around the world. 

 

CBCC's partnership with the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center TRIO-US network further strengthened access to leading-edge research opportunities for patients right here in Kern County.  For many local families, these partnerships meant receiving tomorrow's treatments without ever leaving home.

 

Patients often describe Dr. Patel not simply as a physician, but as a calming presence.

 

Known for his compassionate bedside manner and unwavering dedication, he built a culture where patients were treated as people first — not diagnoses, charts, or appointments. That philosophy became one of CBCC's defining characteristics. 

 

Yet Dr. Patel's impact extends far beyond medicine. Throughout his career, he has quietly invested in the betterment of Bakersfield and neighboring communities through philanthropy, volunteerism, and civic engagement. He has long viewed healthcare as interconnected with the overall wellbeing of the community itself. 

 

In 2012, that vision led to the creation of the Kern County Cancer Fund, an initiative designed to provide financial assistance to local residents undergoing treatment.

 

Dr. Patel recognized that many patients were facing impossible choices while battling cancer: paying for transportation, housing, groceries, medications, or keeping up with monthly bills while unable to work. 

 

What began as a grassroots effort eventually evolved into today's Kern County Cancer Foundation, which continues providing critical assistance to local families navigating some of life's most difficult moments. Whether helping with rent, utilities, transportation, treatment expenses, or everyday necessities, the Foundation has become a lifeline for countless patients throughout our community. 

 

Alongside his wife, Dr. Naina Patel, Dr. Patel also established the Ravi & Naina Patel Foundation to support charitable, educational, and community-focused initiatives aimed at improving quality of life throughout Kern County and beyond. 

 

That same spirit of service is reflected through the CBCC Foundation for Community Wellness, which advances health education, wellness initiatives, outreach programs, and preventative care efforts throughout the region. 

 

Those who know Dr. Patel best often point out that much of his philanthropy has happened quietly, without recognition or publicity. Whether supporting local fundraising efforts, helping families in crisis, contributing to educational programs, or advocating for improved healthcare access, his commitment has always been rooted in service rather than attention. 

 

That spirit of service eventually became woven into the identity of CBCC itself. 

 

As healthcare continues to evolve, so too must the organizations serving growing populations and increasingly complex patient needs.

 

The recent transition between CBCC and Dignity Health represents an important step toward ensuring that future generations continue receiving exceptional care close to home. The partnership will provide expanded access to resources, integrated healthcare services, advanced technology, and collaborative care models that will strengthen healthcare throughout the region for years to come. 

 

Patients can expect continuity in care, familiar faces throughout the campus, and enhanced coordination between providers, all while preserving the patient-centered philosophy that has defined CBCC from the beginning. 

 

For Dr. Patel, the decision to transition CBCC into the Dignity Health system was rooted in the same principle that guided him in 1984: doing what is best for the community. 

 

The transition also marks the beginning of a well-earned retirement for Dr. Patel, who recently announced plans to step away after decades of service to patients and families across Bakersfield and surrounding communities.

 

True to form, however, he is not leaving immediately. Dr. Patel will continue practicing medicine for the next two years to help guide the transition and ensure continuity of care for the patients and families who have trusted him for generations. 

 

As CBCC enters this next chapter alongside Dignity Health, Dr. Ravi Patel's vision for compassionate, community-centered care will continue serving generations to come.

And while his role within the practice may evolve, his impact on Kern County — through medicine, mentorship, and philanthropy — is far from finished.