LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Cancer's impact is profound, but in Southern Nevada, many are turning hardship into hope. While not every fight ends in victory, these stories show a community standing up to cancer through their acts of courage and compassion.
If you've been to an Aces game, you've probably seen her. Coralissa Delaforce lights up the court with energy, smiles and an unstoppable spirit. But behind her vibrant presence with the High Rollers, she's fighting a battle that affects 1 in 78 women in their lifetime — ovarian cancer.
"Ovarian cancer has a very high recurrence rate, so I am now on my third recurrence, and I'm now having treatment outside of Nevada. I'm going to UCLA for a clinical trial," Delaforce told me.
She is refusing to let cancer define her and is instead using it to empower thousands. Despite three diagnoses, Delaforce continues to fight with remarkable resilience and a positive outlook.
"The way I've been coping is trying to figure out my whys, right? What's my why? Why do I want to continue living? Why do I want to go through three, now four rounds of chemo? It's my family. I have a son who's 16. I have a husband. I have a 96-year-old mother who lives with me," Delaforce said.
Her motivation extends beyond her family to the broader community she serves.
"The reason why I show up and fight, I have so much support. My community is so vast… Because when you get cancer, you're like, why me? It's easy to be angry and upset, why me, God, why me? And then… and then I said, why not me? What better person to educate women in the masses and bring 5Ks annually to raise money for ovarian cancer?" Delaforce said.
 Coralissa Delaforce |  Coralissa Delaforce |
Ovarian cancer is often called the silent killer because there's no standard pre-screening test, unlike breast cancer. She told me symptoms like bloating and fatigue can be easily overlooked.
Delaforce first noticed something was wrong when she lost her appetite during triathlon training.
"I just wasn't hungry… I knew I was really bloated… I went to urgent care… they asked me my signs and symptoms… and that's when they're like, oh I see tumors… you have cancer… Not meeting an oncologist yet, not knowing the plan was really scary… it was probably the darkest time of my life," Delaforce said.
After treatment in Southern Nevada, Delaforce discovered she was platinum-resistant, meaning standard drugs no longer worked for her. This led her to seek treatment at UCLA through a clinical trial.
"I needed to find second and third opinions outside of Nevada… I wanted to try something new that was upcoming… at UCLA there are clinical trials," Delaforce said.
Abel Garcia: Do you think that we here in Southern Nevada need more specialty care doctors? Do we need to expand some of that research, expand some of that development so that you don't have to go out of state?
Coralissa Delaforce: I wish there was a big, huge hospital like UCLA, you know, that does several clinical trials not only for ovarian cancer but for other cancers… there's just not as many.
Dr. Staci McHale, a local OB/GYN with nearly 20 years of experience, told me she agrees with the need for expanded care options in Nevada.
"This goes back to the research ability that we have in our state and the ability to provide things like clinical trials for patients when we don't have a large number of educational facilities that can support that. Our government has committed to expanding graduate medical education and providing funding there, which is crucial in expanding our healthcare workforce," McHale said.
According to the Nevada Health Workforce Research Center, Clark County would need an additional 92 medical oncologists to meet national rates for these specialties.
Even while undergoing treatment, Delaforce continues dancing with the High Rollers and is organizing her second annual Teal 5K and one-mile walk on October 18.
Her message to others facing challenges is simple but powerful.
Biomarker testing is being called a revolutionizing "game changer" when it comes to treating cancer. It is a critical component of precision medicine that allows doctors to tailor treatments to patients with unique characteristics — patients like Jennifer Johnson, a 44-year-old mother of four.
Johnson has been living with lung cancer for three years. She told me as a childhood cancer survivor, she knew something wasn't right after months of not feeling well in 2022.
"He came back to give me the results. He said 'I never thought that I would have to tell you this... but you have a mass on your right lung... and it's suspicious for cancer and you need get follow up treatment right away.' So, that's how I found out," Johnson said.
Johnson had part of her lower and middle lobe of her right lung removed in Utah, which she believes helped save her life.
"I feel good but compromised in some ways," Johnson said. "But it did.. it saved my life," Johnson said.
She and her family have since moved from Utah to Southern Nevada. She's now a patient of Dr. Rupesh Parikh, president of Comprehensive Cancer Centers.
Precision medicine, like the biomarker blood test Johnson had, is transforming cancer treatment by enabling targeted treatment options.
 Dr. Rupesh Parikh | "We also test the cancer itself. It allows us to find mutations or targets, variants on the cancer cells. We may have a drug that's out there developed, approved or in clinical trial that we can target that specific mutations," Parikh said. |
For the past 20 years, Parikh has been on the front line of the cancer battle in Nevada. He told me this targeted way of treating cancer has fewer side effects and better response rates.
"We are beating the statistics, the old statistics of 'I have stage 4 cancer, stage 3, you have two years to live, four years to live, one year to live.' We are beating all those because these target are so effective in maintaining people in terms of response rates and much less side effects," Parikh said.
Tricia Kean: You're not losing people. You can actually save people with precision medicine, like you call it.
Dr. Rupesh Parikh: That's exactly true. I've had some people on these drugs for 10 years.
A cancer diagnosis can feel isolating and scary. Patients like Johnson and her daughter volunteer for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, where they offer support to others.
"We want to make sure patients have a voice and we want to make sure they feel like they are being heard," said Jennifer Atlas of the American Cancer Society Action Network. "We are fighting in Carson City. We are fighting nationwide for them to have the treatments they need and increase those survival rates so they are not just surviving, they're thriving."
Johnson is thriving and beating the odds while living with lung cancer. The advancements in precision medicine, like the biomarker blood test and targeted drugs, have given her the gift of life.
Dr. Parikh notes that today fewer people are dying from cancer. He says biomarker testing should now be standard of care, and with the passage of Assembly Bill 155 in the 2023 Legislature, insurance companies are mandated to pay for the biomarker blood test.
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