Ivan Espinoza has aspired to be a physical therapist since middle school, when he created his own bodybuilding program to better manage his weight. 

Now, the 18-year-old from Edinburg, Texas, hopes to work at MD Anderson someday, after accompanying his mother, Marcela de Leon Espinoza, to just one radiation therapy session at MD Anderson The Woodlands. 

“He was really impressed by how friendly, professional and detail-oriented everyone is,” says Marcela, who’s receiving treatment here for stage III invasive lobular carcinoma, a type of breast cancer. “Radiation therapy can be really uncomfortable. You’re having to hold your hands up above your head, and you can’t move. But the staff go out of their way to make it positive and almost fun.” 

Ivan was so amazed by MD Anderson’s culture of caring that he abruptly switched topics just a few days before a student leadership conference in February, and gave a presentation about it to his future health professional peers in Corpus Christi, Texas. 

“I was going to talk about my church at first,” explains Ivan. “The topic was ‘powered by people,’ and I thought about how everyone there plays a role in making you feel welcome. But then I saw the same thing happening at MD Anderson and realized that everyone in a medical environment can affect your life, too. Surrounding patients with hope can bring them peace of mind.” 

‘It was like everyone there was there just for my mom’

The day Ivan accompanied his mother to MD Anderson wasn’t even unusual — just a typical Friday morning at MD Anderson The Woodlands. But Ivan noticed how engaged our employees were from the minute he and his mom approached its doors.  

Their visit took place during flu season, so three different people offered them a mask at the hospital’s entrance before asking if they needed any help with directions. Another employee recognized Marcela immediately and greeted her warmly by name, yet still insisted on confirming the accuracy of everything on her wristband before attaching it. And the cheerful radiation suite technician traded friendly banter with both Ivan and his mother as he got her situated for treatment.  

“It was like everyone there was there just for my mom,” Ivan recalls. “Everybody’s role was slightly different, but they all played a part in making her feel at home.”  

‘It really is all about you’

What impressed the graduating senior most, though, was something that happened at the very end of their visit.

“There was another boy there that morning, getting radiation,” Ivan recalls. “I guess it was his last one, because I heard a bell ringing and then everybody clapping. Later, I saw him again walking through the lobby. Suddenly, another staff member picked up a different bell and started clanging it. And, everybody started cheering again. So, that kid got another celebration, just as he was walking out the door. And I was like, ‘How did they know?’” 

Marcela explained that this was a perfect example of how efficiently MD Anderson employees communicate with each other, as well as their commitment to creating a positive experience for patients.

“It really is all about you at MD Anderson,” Marcela says. “I could have gone anywhere for my breast cancer treatment. But I chose MD Anderson because of how its faculty and staff treated me. From the moment I met with breast medical oncologist Dr. Oluchi Oke, surgical oncologist Dr. Matthew Piotrowski, radiation oncologist Dr. Pamela Schlembach and plastic surgeon Dr. Jonathon Olenczak on that first day, I knew I was in the right place. It’s been a wonderful experience ever since.”

Request an appointment at MD Anderson online or call 1-877-632-6789.