[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 108 (Monday, July 30, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1471]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PAYING TRIBUTE TO DR. IRA JEFFREY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 30, 2001

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, in his forty years of working with cancer 
research and treatment, Dr. Ira Jaffrey has contributed to a movement 
that has saved many lives and has enhanced the quality and duration of 
many others and I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to 
him. While his technical expertise has proven essential for providing 
professional and quality health care, his emotional understanding and 
support have made him a hero.
  After working at Mount Sinai Hospital and School of Medicine in New 
York, Ira and his wife, Sandy, headed to the western slope of Colorado 
where they started Western Slope Oncology in Glenwood Springs, 
Colorado. Currently, Ira works with Valley View, Aspen Valley, Clagett 
Memorial and University hospitals, and the Vail Valley Medical Center. 
In addition, he is an assistant clinical professor at the University of 
Colorado Health Sciences Center and a treasurer and state delegate for 
the Mount Sopris Medical Society. Sandy is a registered Physician's 
Assistant with extensive training and experience in oncology nursing. 
Between the two of them, they care for between 350 and 500 patients.
  Ira and Sandy have personally experienced the challenges and 
destruction that cancer brings; Sandy is a breast cancer survivor, and 
Ira lost his sister to cancer in 1970. Perhaps because they grasp the 
understanding that can only come with experience, they give their 
patients the most dedicated care, such as encouraging their patients to 
call them at home. Ira explained to Heather McGregor of The Glenwood 
Post-Independent that he deals largely with people for whom cancer will 
ultimately prove fatal. ``My job is to eliminate pain and suffering, to 
improve their quality of life, and to increase their survival time,'' 
he told her. ``There are lots of ups and downs, and we have to be there 
for them.''
  Mr. Speaker, for forty years, Dr. Ira Jaffrey has not only worked as 
a skilled and talented oncologist, but he has acted with compassion and 
sensitivity toward one of the most destructive diseases of our time. I 
would like to take this time to thank him for helping improve the 
quality of life for the many people today who suffer from cancer.

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