Thanks to community members who have graciously shared their personal and poignant stories, St. John’s Health is honored to share the real-life experiences of local cancer patients and their challenging and often complex journey to healing. It’s a road that St. John’s Health is working to make shorter by bringing comprehensive cancer care — including radiation therapy — closer to home. 

JACKSON, Wyo. — After a serious diagnosis, one’s focus rapidly sharpens. Day-to-day life changes shape and cadence. Getting on the road to healing becomes the top priority.

In May 2022, Jackson resident Yves Desgouttes received that kind of life-shifting news: he had liver cancer, and he needed to start treatment right away.

A treatment plan was swiftly designed in partnership with Huntsman Cancer Institute. For the next eight months, Desgouttes would visit St. John’s Health twice a week for oncology infusions including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and Radioactive Yttrium 90.

“After my cancer diagnosis, I was eager to begin treatments that could help me survive,” says Desgouttes. Having the option to receive his initial treatments at St. John’s Health meant he could start the journey towards healing right away. During this time, Desgouttes was under the care of Dr. Melissa Cohen, full-time oncologist at St. John’s Health. The two got acquainted right away, building a relationship early on that helped Desgouttes feel confident during an uncertain time. In addition, he had the support and care of the oncology nurses — a group whose “professionalism, compassion, and genuine investment” he says were essential to his experience.

By January 2023, it was time for the next stage: surgery in Salt Lake City. Desgouttes spent a month there in total, first preparing for the procedure and then recovering from it. A month away from his home, his family, his routines, and the team he’d come to trust. It was a “very hard period,” he says.

Once he returned home to Jackson, Desgouttes completed his remaining chemo and immunotherapy. By June 2023, he was treatment-free.

Reflecting on the experience is “very emotional,” Desgouttes says. He was deeply touched by the level of care and compassion he received from his team of nurses and caregivers at St. John’s Health, recalling how they got to know one another on a personal level and enjoyed talking about their lives outside the clinic.

Also significant was the ability to receive expert care and parts of his treatment locally.

It’s a benefit that Desgouttes hopes more patients can experience in the future, too. “Adding Radiation Therapy at St. John’s Health would mean patients can move forward with the care they need, without the delay and disruption of traveling out of state.”

Yves’s story is a reminder of what’s possible when expert oncology care is close to home — and of what’s still missing when it isn’t. Thanks to our generous community, the road to healing is about to get shorter.

What happens next

Thanks to our generous community, the road to healing is about to get shorter. To learn more about our plans for a comprehensive new cancer center, visit www.stjohns.health/cancercenter. Those interested in supporting the Foundation campaign are invited to contact Foundation President Anna Olson at 307-690-7669.
To learn more about plans for a comprehensive new cancer center, click here.Â