Parker County Today February 2018 | Page 58

Ray Page, D.O. Ph.D. Dr. Page is a medical oncolo- gist and is the President and Director of Research at The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. PCT: How did you get into your occupation? RP: Well, it took 17 years of education. I wanted to be a doctor since I was 10 years old. PCT: What is your favorite novel? RP: “Emperor of All Maladies.” PCT: What do you do to decompress? RP: Fish with my kids. PCT: What is something people don’t know about you? RP: I wore corrective shoes in grade school, went on to play college soccer. PCT: What would you most like to be remembered for? RP: Being a caring doctor. 56 PCT: If you could have lunch with anyone, either living or dead from history, who would it be? RP: Nothing is better than lunch with my wife . Otherwise, Dr. Bennett Omalu. PCT: If you had to do a job other than what you’re doing, what would you do? RP: I have the most privileged job in the world that I hope to never give up. There will be no need for an oncologist in heaven, so I think I would make a pretty good street sweeper there. PCT: What is your impact to Parker County? RP: I take care of anyone with cancer. PCT: What is your definition of the best day ever? RP: A day taking care of patients with NO Electronic Health Record, quality reporting, interferences from our 157 government agencies, encumbrances from the payers, peer to peer reviewers telling me what I can›t do, prior authorizations and denials, usurpation of my prescriptive authority by Pharmacy Benefit Managers, and ridiculous mandates from administrators. How happy I would be without these. PCT: What’s the best piece of advice you would give? RP: Always seek the truth and have the courage to question authority, even with insurmountable odds and even when you are told you are a fool. Their facts are not always right. PCT: What is the most interesting thing you have ever done in your life? RP: While working on a graduate degree, I worked for two years at a funeral home on nights and weekends. I helped out with everything and I learned so much. Angelo Spelios Angelo was an Aviation Safety Inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He retired after 30 years of service and was responsible for certification of small air carri- ers, flight schools, agricultural aircraft operations, helicopter operations and enforcement of the FAA Regulations. PCT: How did you get into your occupation? AS: Previous to the FAA, I was a flight instructor for the Army’s initial helicopter flight training, teaching instrument flying and tactics to student pilots. The FAA offered more diverse challenges than flight instructing. The FAA also offered a chance for me and my family to come back to Texas from Fort Rucker, AL. PCT: What is your favorite novel? AS: Flight of the Intruder, by Stephen Coonts. It takes place during the Vietnam war. It is about a Navy A-6 two-seater attack airplane that oper- ates from an aircraft carrier. At the start of the book, the author puts you in the pilot’s seat, at night, with poor visibility and low clouds, ready to be launched from an aircraft carrier for a mission to North Vietnam. It gives you an idea of what our Naval avia- tors went through on these dangerous missions. PCT: What do you do to decompress? AS: Since my retirement, I keep busy by attending meetings and dinners with fellow active and retired pilots. I am a member of several active and retired military organizations that meet monthly for dinner and fellowship. A very important position that I enjoy very much is being a director of The National Vietnam War Museum, located just east of the old Fort Wolters gate in Mineral Wells. We [broke] ground last month for construction of phase one of the museum. This museum [has been] in planning for the last 10 years. PCT: What is something people don’t know about you? AS: After my active duty with the