JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas –
After being a military spouse for 15 years and moving several times, Shawna Jones had her checklist, which included dental appointments and physicals, a mammogram and the usual things she did before a move.
Jones, her husband Lt. Col. Dale Jones, and their daughters Piper, 12, and Kinley, 8, were leaving Italy to come to Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. In the midst of the chaos that goes along with any move, the 41-year-old received devastating news … she had breast cancer.
“My whole world changed,” Jones said.
Before arriving in San Antonio and becoming a patient at Brooke Army Medical Center, Jones had a bi-lateral mastectomy and one dose of chemotherapy.
“Coming to a new treatment facility was a little scary,” she admitted. “We were concerned about the level of care we would receive.”
Because her treatment began at another facility, her oncologist spoke to an oncology doctor at BAMC to ensure it would be a smooth transition. When the Jones arrived for her first oncology appointment, there was some confusion with the appointment schedule.
“As soon as I met the receptionist up in oncology, she squared everything away,” Jones said. “Our first impression was how on top of it she was. She took the situation personally and said she wouldn’t go home that day until I was set up for my next chemo appointment and I was on track.”
“I will do whatever I need to so my patients are taken care of here,” said Cassandra Aaron, oncology receptionist. “I love to help people. I love to feel that I’ve helped get them through something difficult. It gives me joy, it’s a reward to me, not a job, and I do the best that I can.”
The next morning, Jones received two welcoming phone calls from different oncologists telling her not to worry, everything would be on track. One of the doctors who called was Army Capt. (Dr.) Joshua Fenderson, her primary oncologist.
“To us, that was huge,” she said. “It’s not normal to have two doctors take time out of their schedule to do that.”
She was impressed with Fenderson from the very beginning because of how prepared he was during their first appointment.
“He didn’t have to go over my medical history with me, because he had already done the paperwork and had printouts,” Jones said. “He just went through it with me to confirm things. It was so nice not to have to go through everything again.”
The next morning, she had appointments scheduled with surgical oncology and met the head of her surgical oncology team. She had an appointment with plastic surgery and an appointment with radiation oncology. Army Lt. Col. (Dr.) Garth Herbert, her surgical oncologist, coordinated the appointments for Jones.
“Within a week, I had all those appointments and had met everybody on my team and had a plan for how the next year was going to go,” Jones said.
“One of the great things about oncology at BAMC is we have the capability to diagnose, stage, and treat our cancer patients within our institution, which makes communication and treatment planning quite efficient,” Fenderson explained. “I think our approach to breast oncology is one of the best examples. We have a weekly clinic where newly diagnosed breast cancer patients are evaluated by surgical, medical and radiation oncologists, often before staging is complete.”
“Instead of just following the protocol, I feel like everyone has looked at me as an individual and my situation individually,” Jones said. “I know there are many oncology patients, but my team has made me feel like they truly do care about me and I am not just a number.
“They even ask about my girls,” Jones said. “That’s just another example of how they are treating my whole soul not just my cancer diagnosis.”
“Many of the cases I see are quite similar from a medical standpoint,” Fenderson said. “What really distinguishes each case, for me, are the unique interpersonal relationships I develop with my patients and their families.
“I think it’s important to engage with people on a personal level in an effort to gain understanding of their individual situation, perspectives, and beliefs,” he said. “Empathy and compassion are among the earliest, and probably most important interventions I have to offer.”
Jones’ scars from her bi-lateral mastectomy surgery were unusual, so Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Winnifred Wong, radiation oncology services, consulted with other radiologists throughout San Antonio to make sure the treatment protocol was appropriate in light of the scar placement.
“She just wanted to pull in other professionals and it resulted in me getting a few less radiation sessions, which was great,” Jones said.
“Medicine, especially cancer care, requires a team approach to treatment, not only in the approach to curing the cancer, but also the approach to treating the person as a whole,” Wong said. “We have an amazing group of multi-disciplinary providers from multiple service branches, working in concert to provide the highest quality cancer care in the Department of Defense. We are a Commission on Cancer accredited site, which is a testament to the hardworking multi-disciplinary teams and our amazing patients.”
Jones has finished her chemotherapy and radiation and is now focusing on her recovery. She is currently meeting with Army Lt. Col. Neil McMullin, the plastic surgeon on her core medical team, to work on her reconstructive surgery plan.