Every detail makes a difference: Richmond cancer patient moved by staff’s support

67-year-old Rita Mathis arrives at the Telford Cancer Center at Baptist Health Richmond in her wheelchair, bundled in a blanket as her husband, Howard, pushes her inside. 

The chemotherapy treatments have taken weight from her frame, and with it, her body’s warmth. Still, she put on her makeup, and as she settles into her chair, one nurse compliments her blush. Another smiles and mentions her how nice her hair looks that morning. 

“You want me to grab your ginger ale?” a nurse asked gently, remembering a soda settles her stomach. 

“Yes, please,” Rita answered with a grateful smile. 

These small gestures – the kind that make a person feel seen – are what Rita and her husband treasure most about this place. 

“We really like it here,” Rita said. “They make us feel like we’re not a number.” 

For more than a year, while living in Gainesville, Florida, Rita knew something was wrong. Her energy slipped away, and walking became difficult. She visited multiple doctors but never found answers. When the couple moved to Annville, Kentucky to care for family, Rita’s condition worsened. They turned to the ER in Lexington for help. 

“11 days in the hospital,” Howard said. “That’s when they found it.” 

Rita was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer that affects plasma cells in the bone marrow. 

“I didn’t have a clue it would be cancer,” Rita recalled. 

Multiple myeloma cannot be cured, but with the right care, it can be managed. Soon after, Rita and Howard learned about oncologist Firas Badin, MD, who in addition to Lexington, also sees patients at Baptist Health Richmond. 

“We were told he’s an excellent doctor for cancer,” Rita said. 

The Telford Cancer Center, which has recently undergone a donor-funded renovation and expansion, became their lifeline. The updated facilities mean more patients like Rita can receive treatment close to home, in a space that’s modern, welcoming and designed with comfort in mind. 

It was exactly what Rita needed. 

“We just feel like the education here, the cleanliness, the staff – I have never been let down for a moment here, and that means a lot,” she said. “It’s a personal thing. They just know me, and I feel like I’m at home here. I also don’t have to worry about if they’re going to do things correctly.” 

Though her chemotherapy sessions last three hours, the staff’s constant care, kindness and conversation make each visit feel manageable and filled with hope. 

“The best word is support – there’s just a lot of that here,” Rita said. “It’s so nice to have friends." 

As Rita nears the end of her chemotherapy, she knows her journey is far from over. Next will come preventive care – a monthly shot or pill to keep the disease in check. But through it all, she chooses faith and gratitude. 

“I put it in His hands and whatever He wants me to do, that’s what I’ll do,” she said. “But I think it was a blessing that He sent me here.” 

Howard agrees. 

“It’s been tough for us both, but we’re going through it together,” he said. “We appreciate what this facility is doing for her because of the outstanding people.” 

For Rita, the blessing is in her treatment, her chance of survival and the generosity of those who made the Telford Cancer Center’s expansion, and subsequent success, possible. 

“To me, if you are trying to put your money where it’s a blessing, this will be it,” she said. “It may not sound like the donor has benefited, but the donor is benefited. I pass the word constantly, no matter who I’m talking to. I can’t say enough about this place. I want people to come because it’s good care. I trust them, and to me, that’s worth everything.”