Charitable Foundation

White Memorial: Making a Difference in Edwards Life

The Fight of a Lifetime

During his 13 years as the first Latino of the 20th Century to serve on the Los Angeles City Council and as the first Latino from California to serve in the United States Congress, Edward R. Roybal knows a tough fight when he sees one. Throughout his political career of 43 years he fought for tough issues such as quality education and housing, good jobs, and affordable and accessible healthcare for the people he represented in East Los Angeles.

But his toughest battle of his life came from prostate cancer.

“When diagnosed, thoughts of death immediately went trough my mind,” said the 87-year-old statesman. “I knew what could happen if I didn’t treat it.”

Fortunately, Mr. Roybal turned to Dr. Miguel Martinez, a personal friend and a urologist at White Memorial Medical Center, the hospital he has trusted with his health since childhood. Dr. Martinez accurately diagnosed the cancer that had been missed by an earlier screening in Washington, DC.

“The Representative was not a good candidate for surgery because of his age,” said Dr. Martinez. “Instead, we opted for external beam radiotherapy, which delivers a high dose of radiation therapy to the cancerous area with pinpoint accuracy.”

Today, Roybal is a 10-year cancer survivor thanks to White Memorial, which he affectionately calls “the people’s hospital that saved my life.”

“The White has always been there for me,” he added. “I could have gone to any hospital but I trust the White with my life.”