San Antonio doctor and cancer survivor helps cancer patients

SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio doctor answers the call. Dr. Lorimar Ramirez knows firsthand the struggle her patients go through.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and the Methodist Children's Hospital doctor reflected on her story.

“I never thought about dying,” Ramirez said. “It never crossed my mind. I just thought, 'I'm going to survive this.'”

When she was 12 years old, Ramirez was diagnosed with leukemia.

“I was diagnosed in 1992, and the chances of survival for leukemia and actually other childhood cancers were not particularly high,” she said.

While in Puerto Rico, she underwent three years of treatment, a battle that changed her life forever.

“I would say it was a stroke of luck because from that moment on I knew exactly what I wanted to do,” she said.

Dr. Ramirez currently works at Pediatric Specialists of Texas and Methodist Children's Hospital, where she specializes in pediatric cancer and blood disorders.

“I went through treatments,” she said. “I had side effects. I made it through and became a doctor.”

She knows her patients’ pain only too well.

“When I tell them I went through it, I say I survived, and most likely you will too,” she said.

The doctor is determined to treat her patients carefully and to do something good for them and their families.

“Give hope,” she said. “Not only for the patients when they are older, but also for the parents.”

“It's fulfilling,” she said. “It's very fulfilling for me. There's nothing better than doing what I do like I was meant to do it.”

Dr. Ramirez said childhood cancer is the leading non-accidental cause of death in children.

“Yes, we have made progress,” she said. “And through research, we have increased the survival rate. We still need this research.”

She and several of her colleagues were recently recognized for their efforts to help not only Latinos, but other minorities as well. She said the goal is to make sure every family gets the care they need.