John Coscia, M.D.

J. Arrington Cancer Center, Amarillo, Texas
Breast Care Center of Texas, Fort Worth

The telephone call wasn't unusual. I often receive calls from people who want to raise funds for something dear to their hearts, or for their organization. This one was from "Chip Coscia - Ron Anderson referred me to you. Could we get together to talk?" Of course, I thought, anything Dr. Anderson wanted, I would do. Meeting Dr. Coscia at the medical school, we proceeded to the faculty club to talk. The story that this physician unfolded before me was something I knew was remarkable, and something that had to be done.

Leaving a lucrative practice, this reverent physician went to spend time with Mother Teresa. He had had a close call with cancer, and waiting for the pathology reports made him "realize what I'd been doing to women all of these years!" It did not take much insight to view this physician as a caring, superb individual, and one who had a burning desire to care for those less fortunate and/or unable to benefit from clinical breast radiology as a preventive practice. It must have been hours that we talked, I listened, and he explained that he had hoped that he could serve the indigent best through the medical school, and its relationship to Parkland. I knew better but continued to listen. At last, I had to tell Dr. Coscia that "this is not the right time - because the set up at the academic center was not one conducive to independent philanthropy benefiting one program. It was with great trepidation that I gave him my professional opinion. However, I did approach some "philanthropically-minded" people about Dr. Coscia's mission, but they were primarily interested in more than Dr. Coscia's program could provide them!

We remained in touch, and I still did not feel the time was right. "Feel." That is not a strange word for a philanthropic consultant with over thirty years of experience, and Dr. Coscia was patient, always saying, "In God's time."

Little did we know that my own breast cancer, and the actions of two radiologists in mis-reading my mammograms, in spite of sitting and explaining my family history to them would begin "the time." When I received the news, I was only determined to beat this horrible disease and put everything aside. However, two people were among those closest to me, and there for me, at any time I needed them.

I lived in a different city at that point, but Drs. Coscia and Anderson went to work to see if there had been an error in "their house," never once hiding the fact from me...that was akin to hearing, no it was hearing, "I'm so sorry!"  

The world of medicine is not a perfect world - a careful combination of arts and science - patients often only want to hear just that!  Of course the radiologists who were responsible for the errors never said a word. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Coscia informed me of his return to private clinical breast radiology but "I have not given up on this dream." Soon, even though I was not yet well, we were both saying, "If Patch Adams and Mother Teresa can do it, so can we!" In fact we must! Hence, I established PROJECT! OUTREACH.

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