Pahrump cancer patients will soon have a local treatment center to patronize instead of having to make the long trip to Las Vegas.

The opening of the new center is the result of a local woman’s struggle with cancer and a doctor who recognized a tremendous need for a treatment center closer to home.

The idea stems from a conversation between Dr. Raja S. Mehdi and one of his patients in early January. Cheryle Jordan, known as Sherri by those close to her, was finishing up her first round of chemotherapy treatment as her husband, Jack, sat anxiously next to her, making repeated glances from his watch to the bad weather outside.

With about 30 minutes left, Jack expressed his concern about driving across the Spring Mountain Pass on their way home to Pahrump during the storm, telling the doctor it would take them a little more than an hour and Cheryle usually gets nauseous going through the mountains.

In an attempt to ease Jack’s anxiety and better the quality of life for his patient, Sherri, Dr. Mehdi asked if the couple would prefer that he transfer their care to a facility in Pahrump. It was then the doctor discovered there were no cancer services available here, and his office was the closest option available to the couple.

In a town the size of Pahrump, the doctor said he was astonished to find there were no such services available. “I promised my patients that I would bring this care to Pahrump,” Mehdi said. “And I had to fulfill that promise.”

Unfortunately, Cheryle lost her fight with cancer on Jan. 11, at the age of 54. She passed away quietly at her home in Pahrump, while her husband of 31 years held her hand.

“Cheryle may have lost her battle to cancer after bravely fighting it for over a year, but she will never be forgotten because she left her community, her people, with a very special gift — a specialty cancer center close to home,” said Mehdi.

The doctor said Cheryle was his very first patient at the Hope Cancer Care of Nevada facilities in Las Vegas and he was so inspired by her that not only did it influence him to open the Pahrump facility right away, but also, with Jack’s permission, he has decided to give the name “Cheryle’s Pavilion” to Pahrump’s chemotherapy infusion room.

The new facility opens April 4 in suite 7 of the complex at 2340 E. Calvada Blvd.

Although the site does not appear to be prepared for opening, the doctor asserts that everything will be ready on time. Dr. Mehdi explained that since Hope Cancer Care of Nevada is not a mega corporation, they will not be building a new facility just yet; however, there is the possibility of a new facility being built here in Pahrump if the need arises.

Starting out, the new facility will be open on Mondays only and as time goes by the doctor expects to expand that to twice a week, and eventually full time. As a small entity, he and his tight-knit staff will travel together to Pahrump, but the doctor says that further expansion of the staff will be hired from the Pahrump area.

“We wish to have new employees and team members from the community in the near future,” he said.

He also emphasized that if the need arises he will partner with another physician or nurse practitioner.

Mehdi’s wife, Ayesha, is a University of Kansas School of Law alumna and teaches health care law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She decided to flex her interior decorating skills at the facility in Las Vegas and the doctor says that the look of the Pahrump facility will mirror that of the original office.

Hope Cancer Care of Nevada Pahrump facilities will feature six chemotherapy chairs, which can accommodate about 10-12 patients a day, says the doctor.

Mehdi is a board-certified medical oncologist. He concluded his residency in Internal Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, St. Vincent Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was appointed chief resident. He is also board-certified in internal medicine and is a medical graduate of the prestigious Aga Khan University Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan. He later completed his fellowship in oncology at the Providence Cancer Institute, in partnership with the University of Michigan.

Mehdi is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He practiced for over five years at the Comprehensive Cancer Center, St. Francis Hospital, in Topeka, Kan.