Delores Wright, of Arlington, said she has faced two battles with breast cancer. She fought them both at JPS and wouldn’t think of going somewhere else if she is confronted with cancer a third time.
In March, after 33 rounds of radiation, Delores said she was informed that she is -- once again --cancer free.
“I was originally diagnosed in 2006 and I had surgery on 2007,” Wright said. After having a clean bill of health for 10 years, the disease came back. It was a completely different form of cancer and in the opposite breast of the first occurrence. “When they told me I had cancer again, I thought that it must be some sort of mistake. But my doctor was very compassionate. She sat me down and talked to me about it in person. She let me know exactly what was going on. I appreciate that everyone at JPS treats me with such respect.”
Delores said she didn’t know if she could have faced her second battle without her confidantes and supporters at JPS. Calling the second fight one of the toughest times in her life, she said a lot of people don’t realize that cancer takes a devastating mental toll on patients just as it damages the body physically. So, Wright appreciates that her doctors are always there to answer questions, easing her state of mind by giving her the facts about her situation.
“I’m assured that if cancer rears its ugly head again, I have a team in place that will be there,” said Wright. “I’m more than a number to them. I have a face and I have a family. They know and respect that.”
Delores said, although JPS has a reputation of providing care to anyone who needs it regardless of their ability to pay, she has good health insurance and could have gone anywhere she wanted.
“I am a patient at JPS by choice,” Wright said. “They show you compassion while they build you up. I don’t want to be sick. But if I have to be, put me down for JPS. Having been to private institutions my whole life, couldn’t imagine a county hospital was so efficient and effective. I could be treated elsewhere if I wanted. But wouldn’t go anywhere else.”
Tom Daniels has been cancer free for 764 days and he credits his recovery to doctors at JPS.
Daniels came to JPS in 2016 after being diagnosed with bladder cancer. Surgeons removed a tumor at the JPS Surgical Center in Arlington on June 21, 2016 – his birthday.
“My doctor apologized for scheduling me for surgery on my birthday. But I told him, ‘This is the best birthday present anyone could give me. You’re giving me a rebirth,’ ” Daniels said.
His follow-up care at the JPS Center for Cancer Care has been phenomenal, he says. And Daniels has taken his doctors’ advice to heart to do what he can to prevent the return of the cancer.
“He flat out told me the risks that were involved with my habits,” Daniels said. “I was drinking 15 cups of coffee a day and smoking a pack and a half a day. Those are two of the leading causes of bladder cancer. He told me, ‘You can either quit or I will see you every year with cancer.’”
Now Daniels no longer smokes cigarettes. He cut out coffee and even quit drinking decaffeinated coffee.
“I can’t say enough about JPS,” he says. “They go above and way beyond expectations. I’ve had excellent insurance in the past. I have went to high-price doctors and not received near the quality of care I get at JPS. Everyone has been amazing.”
Dr. Bassam Ghabach, Medical Director of the JPS Center for Cancer Care, said no one should have to pass up life-saving cancer treatment because they can’t afford it. Nor should they have to bankrupt themselves trying to stay alive. Ghabach said he is eager for the new JPS cancer center to open in the spring, allowing the health network – which had seen the number of cases it handles per year increase 94 percent in a little more than a decade – to treat even more people.
“The biggest improvement of our new facility is a larger infusion area where they will be able to receive their chemotherapy,” Ghabach said. “We will be able to accommodate more patients and we will have more space to have other subspecialists come to the cancer center and deliver care to the patients.”