Hawai’i Cancer Care Thrives Financially and Culturally as an AON Partner

By AON Staff Writer

August 12, 2026 in Education, Financial Success

At a Glance:

4 physicians and 4 advanced practitioners
70 employees
3 locations
20+ years of providing comprehensive cancer care

About Hawai’i Cancer Care

Hawai’i Cancer Care has been providing individualized, precision-based cancer treatment and supportive care to patients across O’ahu and Maui for more than 20 years. Its multidisciplinary team of highly trained physicians and medical professionals delivers comprehensive care using the latest treatment procedures, advanced technology, and access to a broad range of clinical trial programs.

Recognizing that healing extends beyond medicine, Hawai’i Cancer Care offers emotional and educational support to help patients and their families navigate every step of the cancer journey, close to home and surrounded by their support network. Guided by a commitment to excellence, compassion, and innovation, Hawai’i Cancer Care strives to deliver the best possible experience and outcomes for every patient.

The Challenge: A Slippery Financial Slope

Like many community oncology practices, Hawai’i Cancer Care was battling headwinds from prolonged reimbursement delays — especially for expensive medications that typically cost an average of $10-$20 million per oncologist — rising denial rates and operating expenses, and fickle payer policies. Providing oncology care in Hawai’i also meant navigating a uniquely difficult payer environment, operating without a national financial infrastructure, and earning the trust of a diverse population fiercely committed to preserving its cultural identity.

All this led Hawai’i Cancer Care to “a point of financial instability where they really needed to make a decision on the practice and where it was going,” said Lisa Tamura, Executive Director, Hawai’i Cancer Care. It was also the last independent community practice on O’ahu, where its four physicians and four advanced practitioners provided care out of offices in Honolulu and Aiea. This intensified the pressure to regain financial footing so it could continue caring for its patients close to home.

“There was a lot of pressure to join the hospital group here, but that was a place they did not want to go. They were very adamant about that,” said Tamura, explaining that joining the hospital would dramatically reduce the medical team’s autonomy and force patients, many of whom are seniors, to receive care in a more expensive and complex setting compared to a community-based practice.

The Solution: A Partner that Brings Support and Cultural Respect

Hawai’i Cancer Care made the difficult yet necessary decision to find a partner that could provide the level of support they needed to survive. They knew that the partner would be a national organization from the mainland. “We were really concerned about that company understanding that things are really different here in Hawai’i. It’s not just that we’re geographically isolated or that our payers are unique to Hawai’i, but we are also one of the most diverse states in the US. Half of our population is Asian or Pacific Islander, a quarter to 30% is Caucasian, and the other third is people who consider themselves two or more races. That’s very different than anywhere else in the mainland. We always refer to ohana. It’s family,” said Tamura. “We wanted someone who would respect that and respect that things are different.”

Following an extensive vetting process that included interviews with other oncology practices in the various networks, hospitals, and group purchasing organizations under consideration, Hawai’i Cancer Care ultimately selected American Oncology Network (AON). AON partners with independent practices to reduce administrative burdens, allowing physicians to focus on their patients while maintaining their autonomy—something Hawai’i Cancer Care’s medical team was adamant about preserving.

“I made sure to ask about that when I called the other practices. They all said, ‘You are really a physician partner, and you’re involved in the decisions.’ That was the main idea that flowed through all those conversations,” said Tamura, adding that the personal involvement of AON CEO Todd Schonherz was “the tipping point. Todd is a driving force behind AON. He follows through with everything.”

As an AON partner, Hawai’i Cancer Care now has access to a wide range of benefits, including reduced drug costs, centralized ancillary services, an oral pharmacy, and enhanced financial assistance programs. AON also provides a robust management structure, including support for human resources, IT, compliance, and marketing.

Equally important, AON approached the partnership with deep respect for the Hawaiian culture. The focus was on building relationships with the local community and ensuring Hawai’i Cancer Care’s medical team could maintain its autonomy and local branding — right down to providing patient paperwork in the island’s six languages.

Respect for the Hawaiian culture was again considered during the transition to AON’s oral pharmacy. Instead of forcing patients to adjust to impersonal home deliveries from the facility in Florida, they were given the option to pick up their medications from the practice, maintaining the personal service they were accustomed to receiving from the local pharmacy.

Transition teams also incorporate cultural traditions wherever possible. When opening a third office in Maui, a traditional blessing was performed instead of the ribbon-cutting ceremony typical for mainland openings. “That’s what has been lovely about AON. They worked hard with the transition team for them to understand and just to be sensitive to tradition and culture, and that really showed,” said Tamura.

The Outcome: Stability, Growth, and Community Integration

Operationally and culturally, AON quickly demonstrated it was the right choice for Hawai’i Cancer Care. Careful attention to preserving Hawaiian and practice cultures, including AON’s willingness to improve employee benefits, meant the practice emerged from the transition with one of the lowest turnover rates in the national network. A financial manager has been added to the team to handle prior authorizations and other payer follow-up. A physician liaison has also been added to support further growth by managing referrals and marketing the practice to the community.

Operationally, Hawai’i Cancer Care is not just surviving as part of the AON network; it is thriving. A third location opened in Maui, and new services have been added, including intravascular treatment. Ground will soon be broken on a 15,000-square-foot flagship office in Waikiki, where a broader array of specialty care, including radiotherapeutics and PET scans, will be offered.

“Our North Star is providing the best treatment we can for patients in their home setting,” said Tamura. “Having this national network has really been amazing. We’re connected, and AON is great in terms of all of it.”

Learn more about becoming an AON partner practice, here.