National Recognition

“I thank God for putting Dr. Delrie in my life”

In July 2022, Shikena Wells was diagnosed with Stage Ill multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer located in the bone marrow. "For many months, I had been feeling weaker and weaker," says Shikena, who was working at Wal-Mart as an overnight stocker at the time. "It felt like I was always dehydrated, and my back was hurting too."

"The disease was at an advanced stage when we first saw her," says Dr. Ronald Delrie, an oncologist and board-certified hematologist who joined the medical staff at Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center and The Mississippi Cancer Institute in 2016. "Shikena was very weak. In fact, she weighed only 93 pounds at the time of her diagnosis. But Shikena is a remarkable and incredibly hardworking person. Even before her treatment, when she was so sick, she never missed a day of work. That's really amazing!"

When a person has multiple myeloma, cancerous plasma cells build up in the bone marrow, the soft matter inside the bones where blood cells are made. Healthy plasma cells make proteins called antibodies that help fight infection. But with multiple myeloma, the cancer cells make proteins that don't work right and crowd out the healthy blood cells.

Our mission is to lead the healthcare field in our region by providing excellent healthcare services for our community, while raising the healthcare standards in Southwest Mississippi as well as Louisiana. We want to serve the needs of our community, medical staff, employees, and-above all-our patients.

When you choose Southwest Health, you can have confidence that our priorities are straight. We are pleased to serve as your healthcare provider, no matter how short or long your stay. Our goal is to make your experience at Southwest Health as comfortable and relaxed as possible.