Patient Success Stories

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DeTar Cancer Center's design centralizes cancer care into a single location, allowing the oncology team to deliver the right care, at the right time – and all close to home.

Cancer can happen to anyone

I’m Dr. Morgan Heck, a primary care physician from Yoakum, Texas. At only 32 years old, I was diagnosed with HER2+ breast cancer. This rarer subtype accounts for only 4% of cases and is one of the more aggressive forms of breast cancer.

I was diagnosed at a large hospital system in Houston, Texas; a short time later, a close friend and fellow physician referred me to the team at DeTar Cancer Center. I want everyone to know cancer doesn’t discriminate and that quality, superb cancer care can happen close to home.

At DeTar Cancer Center, I have experienced more personalized care, seeing the same physicians and staff members at every visit. They have promptly addressed issues and side effects I’ve experienced since my treatment began, and I have access to infusions, if needed, all without hospitalization being required.

I’ve just finished my last round of chemotherapy and through everything, I’ve had a tremendous amount of support from the team at the DeTar Cancer Center. My physicians, oncologist Dr. Ali Jafri and interventional radiologist Dr. Ryan Mikus have helped me navigate the complex disease that cancer is, and I have a direct line to a cancer navigator who was assigned to me by the facility. These personal connections have allowed me to get things done much faster, even outside of traditional office hours. On the nights when I had problematic symptoms or problems arose, the nurse navigator was readily accessible.

Because I’m a physician, I am extremely selective of the services I am required to receive throughout my cancer journey and truthfully, the care that has been provided to me by the physicians at the DeTar Cancer Center is close to world-class.

If there’s anything I would share with someone hesitant about choosing to receive their care from the DeTar Cancer Center, I would say there is no difference in the level of care that I received in Houston than I did in Victoria– it’s intimate, convenient, and I am as comfortable as one can be when they’re receiving treatment for such a life altering disease. I truly don’t see the need to spend more money or time away from home when I can stay in the vicinity of the South Texas Crossroads, the place I call home.

For me, the localization of the DeTar Cancer Center has been a Godsend.