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Seventeen years ago, a phone call changed the course of Fayleta Lawrence¡¯s life. It was her mother, breaking the news that she had just been diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer.

¡°I started crying,¡± says Lawrence, a patient services coordinator at MD Anderson League City. ¡°I remember thinking: there¡¯s no number after four.¡±

Lawrence had been working for a record label, but her mother¡¯s diagnosis caused a shift in her career plans. 

¡°This was my turning point to move from music to medicine,¡± Lawrence says. ¡°I wanted to know everything I could about the body, about cancer.¡± 

She began applying for positions at MD Anderson, a place she has ¡°always, always¡± wanted to work.

¡°It took me nine years to get here,¡± says Lawrence, who was hired in 2019 after applying for several different jobs.

Driven to make cancer patients ¡°feel a little better¡±

Today, Lawrence is driven to make a difference in patients¡¯ lives. As a patient services coordinator, she schedules tests, procedures and treatments, ensuring quality patient care in response to directives from physicians, nurses and administrators.

¡°If I can make patients feel a little better, that¡¯s what I¡¯ll do,¡± says Lawrence, who connects with as many as 400 patients a day. ¡°A lot of people are afraid when they come in. I¡¯ll console them, give them a hug, a tissue. I¡¯ve had men cry and tell me I¡¯ve made a difference in their journey.¡±

She credits her father with preparing her for the job.

¡°My dad taught me everything I know,¡± she says. ¡°He couldn¡¯t read, and, as a child, I helped guide him with my reading. But he taught me about being kind and treating every person with dignity and respect.¡±

Helping people feel seen

Lawrence has long suspected that she would find herself in a professional role that allows her to offer compassion and support.

¡°People want to feel seen,¡± she says. ¡°I¡¯m a people person, and I¡¯ve always been a people person. That¡¯s what drives me. And that drive goes right back to my mom.¡±

Lawrence¡¯s mother survived her cancer and remains a source of inspiration for her daughter to this day.

¡°I tell patients that I personally understand what they are going through,¡± Lawrence says. ¡°I want to help them. I want them to feel like family.¡±

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