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ONCOLOGY ▸
GRATEFUL PATIENT:
When
colon cancer took Eric Reinis by
surprise, he found support and
care at Methodist Richardson
Cancer Center.
“This
place is giving me an ulcer,” Eric Reinis used to say
when joking with colleagues about his job. Chalking it up to
acid reflux, he dealt with pain in his lower stomach for more
than a year until symptoms worsened and his primary care
physician referred him to a specialist for a colonoscopy.
At the time, Reinis was still in his 30s — well under the recom-
mended age of 50 for a colonoscopy. But the procedure revealed
a tumor, which a biopsy showed to be stage III colon cancer.
“It doesn’t run in my family, I don’t smoke, and I’m the
youngest in my family,” Reinis says. “We never would have
guessed cancer would be the problem.”
Prepared to beat cancer
The medical professionals at Methodist Richardson Medical
Center immediately put a treatment plan into action. After
surgery to remove the tumor, Reinis was referred to Sam
Bibawi, MD, an independently practicing medical oncologist
and hematologist on the medical staff at the Methodist
Richardson Cancer Center.
“I’m very thankful for his care,” Reinis says. “He put
me at ease by explaining the treatment process in a very
commonsense approach.”
Dr. Bibawi says that Reinis’ age was an advantage to his
treatment. “As a general rule, colon cancer has a better prognosis
in younger patients,” Dr. Bibawi says. “The fact that he is very
healthy and has had no other medical problems — and that he
has determination — helped in the success of his treatment.”
Reinis went through six months of chemotherapy and is grateful
to the Cancer Center staff for helping him get through the process.
“A big piece of it truly is the doctors, and you can tell they care,”
Colon cancer
couldn’t slow
me down
he says. “From the receptionist to the assistants who perform IVs,
everyone goes out of their way to make sure you’re comfortable.”
Healing all the way
The interdisciplinary team approach at the Cancer Center also
aided in Reinis’ successful recovery.
“I had a complete team of physicians who knew what they
were doing,” he says.
It’s been almost three years since Reinis came through
the doors of the Cancer Center, and he is back to his normal
life and feels great. His philosophy is to make the best out of
whatever situation he’s in.
“Cancer changed my
life but in a way that
made me see things more
clearly,” he says. “Thanks
to a wonderful wife and
strong family, it never
slowed me down. You
have to stay positive. It
is 100 percent beatable.”
For help winning
the fight against cancer,
call
972-4 DR LINE
(
972-437-5463
) or go to
www.MethodistHealthSystem.
org/RichardsonCancer
.
Texas law prohibits hospitals from practicing medicine. The physicians on the Methodist Health System
medical staff are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Methodist HealthSystem.
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Methodist Richardson Medical Center
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Winter 2011 – 2012