Kacie Garcia

WellMed physician keeps two-time cancer survivor healthy

It is not exaggerating to say that preventive care keeps Kacie Garcia alive.

Kacie, an operations director for WellMed in San Antonio, was in her early 20s when she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and just months later, cervical cancer. Kacie also has a family history of cancer and an increased risk of colon and breast cancers.

“I have the genetic marker for breast cancer on one gene and the one for colon cancer on both genes,” Kacie said.

Kacie, now 37, is cancer free and, with the help of her primary care physician, is hoping to stay that way.

Under the care of Dr. Mohammadullah Faiz, who practices at WellMed at Ingram Park in San Antonio, Kacie gets regular check-ups and frequent colonoscopies and mammograms.

Kacie wasn’t always so conscientious about her health. She admits that she was a terrible patient who didn’t take her meds regularly and often missed follow-up appointments.

That all changed after being hired at WellMed and finding Dr. Faiz.

“The first thing he did was yell at me, then got me back on my meds,” Kacie said, referring to Dr. Faiz’s tough love approach to his patient’s care. “And he listens to me. He knows my history well and will call me personally if I reschedule an appointment more than once, to find out why.”

Doctors before Dr. Faiz often dismissed what Kacie told them about her health.

“I know my body and I can tell if something is wrong,” Kacie said. “But I’ve had a doctor ask me if I was sure when I said something was wrong. With Dr. Faiz, if something doesn’t feel right, he listens to me.”

So when Kacie started experiencing pain under her breast bone a few years ago, Dr. Faiz was concerned enough to schedule an ultrasound for her.

She was out of town the Saturday the results came back, but Dr. Faiz called her himself to let her know they’d found severe gallstones.

“He wanted me to go to the hospital immediately, but I was in Brownsville (Texas),” she said. “He told me to come back to town the next day and he would schedule an appointment Monday morning for surgery.”

In the meantime, Dr. Faiz made sure Kacie had his cell number, just in case her pain got worse.

Luckily, Kacie made it home and had surgery on schedule without any complications, another close call averted by her relationship with Dr. Faiz.

“I cannot sing his praises enough,” Kacie said. “I would not be where I am today without him.”