EL PASO, Texas — The Cancer Center Patient Fund at the Steve and Nancy Fox Cancer Center is growing thanks to an initial $100,000 gift from a local family dedicated to easing the financial burden of cancer treatment and encouraging the community to support the fund’s mission.
When the family heard the community matched their initial gift within three months, they were so impressed with our Borderplex region’s commitment to providing world-class patient care close to home, they gave a second $100,000 gift, providing another opportunity for our community to match and meet the ongoing need to fund this important initiative. Together with community champions, the family has given the Cancer Center Patient Fund a strong start with $300,000 to assist families in the region.
The fund has been established in support of the Steve and Nancy Fox Cancer Center, to be constructed at Texas Tech Health El Paso. The Fox Cancer Center will be the first cancer center to serve West Texas and our Borderplex region. It will open doors to world-class cancer care, elevate life-saving research and create opportunities for trials of new cancer treatments.
El Paso resident Rosario De Anda was shocked when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and that disbelief quickly turned to fear when she realized no one would schedule the surgery due to her lack of insurance. Fortunately, she found the help she needed at Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso, the clinical practice of the Foster School of Medicine.
“Support is the most important part of cancer treatment,” De Anda said. “When I started to feel that sense of hope, I began to lose the fear. It made me want to live and push forward.”
In June 2023, the Texas Legislature approved a $65 million appropriation for planning and building the cancer center at Texas Tech Health El Paso. In August, El Pasoans Steve and Nancy Fox, along with their daughters Paige and Ashley, announced a transformative $25 million investment to support the center.
The patient fund will help Borderplex residents reduce the financial burden of obtaining cancer care. The fund will help cover treatment costs, co-pays, transportation, food, and ancillary services, like mental health support.
Cancer Care Close to Home
Cancer treatment can be trying for patients physically, mentally, emotionally and financially, especially if it requires treatment at a cancer center facility far from El Paso. Currently, the two closest cancer centers are in Albuquerque, more than 250 miles away, and Houston, nearly 750 miles away. Cancer treatment alone is a heavy hit to the finances. Patients and their families spend an estimated $5.6 billion annually in out-of-pocket expenses for surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and other treatments, according to the American Cancer Society. The additional financial burden that falls on patients regarding traveling for treatment poses increased challenges to receiving quality care.
When the Fox Cancer Center opens, Borderplex cancer patients will no longer have to bear the stress and expense of travel and housing for out-of-town cancer treatment.
The new cancer center will offer patients access to specialty physicians, multidisciplinary care teams and imaging services. It will also be home to research activities that are expected to create opportunities for clinical trials of cancer treatments.
“Patients will be able to participate in clinical trials and groundbreaking research, bringing hope during a very difficult time,” said Andrea Tawney, Ph.D., vice president for TTUHSC El Paso’s Office of Institutional Advancement. “And because they’re close to home, they’ll be surrounded by family and friends supporting them through treatment and recovery.”
That hope is a testament to Texas Tech Health El Paso, an institution built by the community it serves by focusing on the unique health care needs of a socially and culturally diverse border population.
The need for improved cancer care in El Paso is dire. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Hispanics in the U.S. El Paso’s population is 83% Hispanic, with an annual average of 395 cancer cases per 100,000 Hispanics, according to the National Cancer Institute. That outpaces Texas’ average of 346 cases per 100,000. In the U.S., Hispanics are the largest and fastest-growing minority group, and due to their sheer numbers, this group is expected to face a 142% rise in cancer cases in the coming years.
Hope in the Face of Cancer
The good news is patients treated in cancer centers have a higher survival rate over five years due to research and access to services. Having a cancer center in El Paso will help reduce health inequities on the U.S.-Mexico border.
It’s estimated that Hispanics make up less than 4% of participants in cancer research and clinical trials, a disparity that may hinder improved treatments and treatment outcomes for this population. With its location in our Borderplex, the cancer center is expected to help close that gap by increasing Hispanic participation in research and clinical trials.
“The response to this matching gift was incredible, and the additional $100,000 gift following shows the kind of compassionate community we live in. It’s who we are. This is philanthropy full circle at its very best,” Tawney said. “Our community stepped up to impact the lives that will be touched by leveraging a match challenge.”
For De Anda, support like that is life-changing.
“With cancer, you never know what can happen. But it’s all about support and hope. Before you know it, five years go by, then 10 and you realize you did it – you survived – and you’re still OK,” De Anda said.
If you would like to help double this additional match and provide life-changing access to cancer care by easing patients’ financial burden, please contact Andrea Tawney, vice president for Institutional Advancement, at Andrea.Tawney@ttuhsc.edu.
About the Steve and Nancy Fox Cancer Center
The first cancer center to serve West Texas and our Borderplex region, the Steve and Nancy Fox Cancer Center will transform the way we treat cancer for our families, friends and neighbors by consolidating outpatient services under one umbrella. Access to a wide range of care at the center ensures patients never have to leave home for cancer treatment.
In June 2023, the Texas legislature approved a $65 million appropriation in the 2024-2025 state budget for planning and building a comprehensive cancer center on the TTUHSC El Paso campus.
The Steve and Nancy Fox Cancer Center became a reality in 2023 thanks to a transformative $25 million investment from local philanthropists Steve and Nancy Fox.
About Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso
TTUHSC El Paso is the only health sciences center on the U.S.-Mexico border and serves 108 counties in West Texas that have been historically underserved. It’s a designated Title V Hispanic-Serving Institution, preparing the next generation of health care heroes, 48% of whom identify as Hispanic and are often first-generation students.
According to a 2022 analysis, TTUHSC El Paso contributes $634.4 million annually to our Borderplex region’s economy.
With a mission of eliminating health care barriers and creating life-changing educational opportunities for Borderplex residents, TTUHSC El Paso has graduated over 2,000 doctors, nurses and researchers over the past decade, and will add dentists to its alumni beginning in 2025. For more information, visit ttuhscepimpact.org.
Photos: El Pasoan Rosario De Anda and her daughter Ruby Alvarez are full of hope after Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso helped De Anda survive breast cancer. The Cancer Center Patient Fund at the Steve and Nancy Fox Cancer Center, established by a local family, will help more cancer warriors in our region.
