For most, a new year is the time for a fresh start. For Becky Spray, it was the start of her cancer journey.
Becky was adopted when she was three days old, so she didn’t know anything about her family medical history. Because of that, she started performing regular self-breast exams weekly when she was in college. On Jan. 1, 2020, she felt a lump. After a visit to her doctor, she was...
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We are always happy to receive compliments from our patients.
Becky Berry recently received care through our intensive cardiac rehabilitation program in Tyler, using Pritikin ICR. Unlike the 36 exercise sessions offered through a traditional cardiac rehabilitation program, Pritikin offers...
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Doc Smith always knew the risks, but not much can deter the 20-year-old from competing as a professional motocross racer. When asked about his most recent injury, he seemed to shrug and said, “It comes with the territory.”
Introduced to the sport by his dad at four years old, Doc said he didn’t begin taking it seriously until he was about 15. “I always wanted to be professional, but I didn’t begin putting in the effort until that time.” Doc competed locally until he was...
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In August 2020, Meagan Doran got the news that no one wants to hear, “You have cancer.” Meagan was only 36 years old and a mother of two young children. She had a significant family history of cancer, so she knew there was a chance she could experience it one day, but hearing those words is something you can never prepare for.
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In March 2020, the world flipped upside down. For many, it was COVID-19 concerns, but for Navy veteran Jeff Hickerson, it was a battle with leukemia.
“I started feeling tired and was getting worn out quickly,” Hickerson said. “I used to have high blood pressure, so I...
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After more than 20 years of fainting episodes, veteran and former peace officer Rickey Mayfield received life-changing heart surgery in Tyler.
In 1997, Rickey Mayfield started having fainting episodes. He visited several hospitals and doctors and could never figure out exactly what was wrong. They told him they thought he was having seizures that were causing his blood pressure and heart...
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Just one week after giving birth to her fifth child, Maria Bell underwent life-saving heart surgery.
“I was sitting on the couch and my chest started to hurt,” Bell said. “I went to get my husband because it was getting worse and I wasn’t sure what it was. My husband is a family medicine physician resident at UT Health East Texas, so I figured if anyone would know what was going on, he was my best chance. By the time I got to him, the pain started to go up to my neck and down my arms. I told him what was happening, and he knew it was a bigger concern than I thought. I thought it...
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All survivors have one thing in common: hope. Without hope, you’ve given up the fight. Liana Fleming is the perfect portrait of a survivor. Fleming survived polio, a heart attack and multiple broken bones before being diagnosed with breast cancer.
“Cancer is a scary thing,” said Liana Fleming. “Once you have it, you kind of sit and wonder, ‘Could it happen again?’ And it could. But then...
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We cannot speak highly enough of our own caregivers, especially as we are celebrating the Rehabilitation Center’s 25th anniversary. But it’s always nice to hear it from someone else!
Harry O’Bryant recently attended our Pritikin Intensive Cardiac Rehabilitation program in Tyler. Upon receiving treatment, O’Bryant wrote a letter to our administration letting us know about the exceptional care and education he was receiving from the cardiac rehabilitation team, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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At 77 years old, Janice McMakin wasn’t sure she would be able to handle open-heart surgery when she found out she needed her mitral valve replaced for a second time. Luckily, the cardiothoracic surgery team at the UT Health East Texas Cardiovascular Institute in Tyler had a new procedure in mind for her: the transcatheter mitral valve replacement.
In 2014, McMakin had her mitral valve...
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