Dr. Marta Dahiya and Dr. Jayasree Rao of Oncology San Antonio; Specialize In Treating Cancers That Afflict Mostly Women.

Every so often one meets a doctor and immediately can see true passion in her eyes. Occasionally you will even meet more than one. Rarely do you strike gold in more than one place. However at Oncology San Antonio, patients are fortunate to meet two rare individuals who are indeed fervent about their chosen profession. Dr. Marta Dahiya, radiation oncologist and Dr. Jayasree Rao, medical oncologist are part of a larger group of oncologists, and as part of that winning team, have dedicated themselves to helping their patients.

Rao, who hails from Southern India was drawn into the medical field and specifically oncology as she found herself caring for many of her relatives who had fallen victim to cancer. “I wanted to do something practical to help them,” she says candidly, dark eyes flashing as she recalls those early days. Dahiya came to the practice in a slightly different, but no less profound way. During her research years she found she had an affinity for cancer patients and that led to a specialty in radiation oncology.

Both women acknowledge that it is more than the pure science of medicine that keeps them coming to work on a daily basis. “Oncology as a profession is an art,” says Rao. “You are called to it.” Dahiya agrees and adds, “Oncology patients are definitely different from any other kind of patient. There’s something of a ‘taboo’ still around the word cancer. Mention ‘diabetes’ and people are almost flippant. Mention the word ‘cancer’ and immediately you have everyone’s attention.” As a result, Dahiya says, cancer patients tend to take instruction very well. “Tell a diabetes patient to watch their diet and lose 30 pounds and they may do it, or they may lose steam halfway through and fall back into bad habits.” Rao concludes, “But tell a cancer patient the same thing, and they will follow your instructions to the letter!” The end result is that many cancer patients do better than patients with other ailments. Both doctors find that extremely gratifying. “Most of our patients are cured of their cancers because they listen, and they follow instructions,” says Dahiya, her faint South American accent creeping through as she chuckles.

“Mention the word ‘cancer’ and immediately you have everyone’s attention.” As a result, Dr. Dahiya says, cancer patients tend to take instruction very well. “Tell a diabetes patient to watch their diet and lose 30 pounds and they may do it, or they may lose steam halfway through and fall back into bad habits.” Dr. Rao concludes, “But tell a cancer patient the same thing, and they will follow your instructions to the letter!”

Perhaps it’s because these two doctors are women, but they have chosen to specialize with cancers that afflict mostly women. They are pioneering a women’s cancer services center that will specialize in women affected by breast and gynecological cancers. The plan and ultimate goal is to have one location where a patient goes for all of her medical needs. Instead of driving from location to location and having to have information faxed or phoned or mailed from office to office, everything will be handled in one central location. The two doctors envision holding one staff meeting and everyone is informed at one time of a patient’s protocols and everyone is privy to the same information. It is far safer for the patient, the doctors say, and it is easier on everyone, doctors, staff and patients alike.

The two doctors are not only concerned with the physical well-being of their patients. Rao, for example, put a support group together for her cancer patients. “They know first hand what another cancer patient is thinking and feeling at any given moment,” she explains. She encourages her patients to swap phone numbers and talk to one another. She has discovered that it has really helped her patients. But she too has benefited from it, in unexpected ways. This Christmas she was inundated with gifts, not only for her, but also for her small child and her husband. Unlike many doctors who guard their private lives jealously, she opened her home to her patients for a holiday party. “People think I am crazy to do this. But it is just a part of who I am.”

Dahiya says that being with cancer patients has given her a different focus on life. “Perhaps because they become so grateful for each day they have, I tend to look at life the same way they do. I am thankful for things that others might take for granted, my health, my family, and my ability to work and earn a living. It’s not until you are faced with the reality that one day you might not have those, that you realize just how important they are.”

The doctors are quietly proud of their achievements, and also amazed at how far medicine as a profession has come. When she was in medical school Rao recalls a professor reading an excerpt from a doctor’s journal dated 1895. In it the doctor instructed another doctor to ‘please help the patient who has a fumigating mass in her breast. Please alleviate the pain as best you can.’ Today no cancer patient would face that scenario. In fact, according to Dahiya, cancer is becoming almost a chronic illness, rather than a fatal disease.

With drive and determination, and with an eye to the near future and the coming women’s center, these two doctors are resolute and unwavering in their quest to help their patients, give them the support and counsel they need and the hope they’re looking for.