Walter Reed celebrates cancer survivors, highlights presidential care

By Bernard S. Little Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Hospital Communications

Melinda DeLoatch-Speight, diagnosed with Stage 3 fallopian/ovarian cancer in September 2021, described her care as “amazing” from her multi-disciplinary team at the John P. Murtha Cancer Center (MCC) at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC).

"My cancer is one of those mysteries, and I would love for this not to be a mystery anymore," said DeLoatch-Speight, whose husband served in the U.S. Coast Guard. "[Doctors] said I had Stage 3, but Stage 3 doesn't mean the end,” she added.

DeLoatch-Speight was one of the cancer survivors who shared their stories during a panel discussion at the MCC’s Third Annual Cancer Survivors’ Day Summit on June 9 at Walter Reed.

Sarah Bernstein, a registered nurse and deputy director of Palliative Care and Survivorship for the MCC’s Research Program (MCCRP), coordinated the summit. She described it as a “celebration of cancer survivors and their caregivers.” In addition, the annual event focuses on how the MCC and Walter Reed can enhance support services to cancer survivors, their families and caregivers beyond the presidential care provided at the medical center.

“While we try to celebrate every milestone, [Cancer Survivors’ Day] is a way to bring us all together and share what makes all of us here at the MCC, the only Cancer Center of Excellence in the Department of War, special and able to meet the needs of so many,” Bernstein added.

She said that in 2025, 807 patients were newly diagnosed with some form of cancer at Walter Reed, and “we have thousands of patients who we follow for their survivorship care.”

“Our team uses the most current, research-based treatment options combined with holistic, comprehensive care,” Bernstein stated.

Walter Reed Director, U.S. Navy Capt. (Dr.) Melissa Austin agreed, adding, “Although our treatment programs get most of the limelight, our survivorship program is actually the jewel in our cancer care crown. It signals success. It is a visible demonstration of our lifelong commitment to our cancer survivors, a group that is thankfully increasing in number and longevity.”

“It’s a good thing the number of cancer survivors are ever growing,” agreed retired U.S. Army Col. (Dr.) Craig Shriver, MCC and MCCRP director. “The premier day will come when we can prevent cancer or diagnose it before it occurs,” he added.

Epidemiologist Rebecca Robbins, from the Center on Prostate Disease Research (CPDR) at Walter Reed, discussed how treatment choices across the Military Health System (MHS) are captured. “Treating chronic health conditions is vital and a cancer diagnosis amplifies this. Small shifts add up over time, and smoking cessation is a consistent finding in terms of a benefit to survivorship,” she added. She shared that one of the research projects her team is focused on looks at how clinical and lifestyle determinates impact mortality.

Fred Cohrs, another survivor who participated in the panel discussions, is a prostate cancer success story. He was a high-risk patient, diagnosed by a biopsy performed at the Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, then referred to the CPDR at Walter Reed for minimally invasive, laparoscopic surgery.

“My PSA is now completely undetectable,” Cohrs shared, referring to the measurement of the amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in his blood. The PSA level in men is used to help detect for possible prostate cancer. He now volunteers as a group leader for a prostate cancer patient support group, assisting people impacted by the disease. “Doctors [at Walter Reed] saved my life, and the support group saved my soul,” he stated.

During the summit, Kimberly Robins, an epidemiologist from the MCCRP, reviewed how breast cancer patients use resources across the MHS. “Women with breast cancer have distinct physical, psychosocial, and survivorship needs that vary by age, and supportive care that targets [these] needs aids recovery, but its utilization may be influenced by age and access,” she said.

She added that variables her team looked at in their study concerned how breast survivors use physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), mental health (MH) services and nutritional counseling.

“Younger patients were more likely to use MH, whereas older adults more frequently utilized PT, OT, and in some cases, nutritional counseling,” Robins added. “Age difference in utilization of PT and OT might be related to greater functional needs among older patients. Age differences in MH may be related to unique psychosocial concerns such as family planning and navigating survivorship at an earlier life stage among younger patients. Age-related difference in utilization do not necessarily reflect need.”

“These findings emphasize the importance of age- and context-tailored supportive care strategies to ensure that all patients receive timely, appropriate services throughout the care continuum,” Robins added.

Robins’ second study concerns how bowel dysfunction affects 70 to 90 percent of patients after colorectal cancer treatment and often persists long-term, significantly impacting quality of life.

“Pelvic floor therapy (PFT) improves bowel function and quality of life; however, utilization remains limited by financial barriers, geographic and logistical access constraints, and patient-level perceptions of limited benefit,” explained Robins, who shared in a panel discussion with Bernstein and Robbins.

Deloach-Speight and Cohrs were joined in their panel discussions by U.S. Army Col. (Dr.) Jeremy Edwards, chief of Palliative Medicine at Walter Reed; Dr. Shiney Sam, Palliative Medicine-Internal Medicine; and Marc Minkin, a Walter Reed social worker, who assists patients and families navigate the healthcare system, manage psychological challenges, and connect with vital community resources, during their cancer care.

Edwards defined palliative care as “supportive care throughout the continuity of the disease. Our job is to help make sure our patients and their families have all the knowledge about what their decisions will mean, or as much as possible, before they make those decisions. Our goal is to never have someone say, ‘I wish I had just known that my decision would have meant this, or I would have never done it.’ We don’t ever want that, but it could still happen [because cancer is inherently unpredictable],” he said.

“I think for active military service members impacted by cancer, it is a potential perfect storm of already present anxiety/PTSD, with now cancer survivorship, mixed with requirement to get back to work,” shared Andrew Kettner, one of the summit’s attendees. “[It’s] quite a bit to unpack for each individual’s journey.”

Bernstein explained this is why the summit is needed – to help patients and their families unpack these anxieties and seek resources to handle them. The summit also included a resource fair with more than 20 support providers located at Walter Reed.“[They] can help patients, their families and caregivers navigate this challenging time in their lives,” Bernstein stated.

According to the National Cancer Institute, there were more than 18 million cancer survivors in 2025, and that number is projected to grow to over 22 million by 2035. Bernstein said this highlights the importance of survivorship programs and resources available to help meet the physical and emotional needs of survivorship.