Devangi (left) and Jinesh (second from the right) Gandhi with their two daughters

Local business owners Jinesh and Devangi Gandhi have called Austin home for nearly 20 years. They chose to raise their children here, and they’ve watched the city grow into a national epicenter for new technology and health innovation. When they learned that Dell Medical School was training future doctors to revolutionize the way people get and stay healthy, the Gandhis saw an opportunity to give back to the community they love in a way that is deeply meaningful for their family.

“When you work in this community and you see the diversity — the type of people and the support we have — you want to be a part of it and really give back,” Jinesh says. “I wanted to do something for the society that has given us so much.”

“This is an opportunity to participate in history,” Devangi says. “It’s a historical event for Austin to have its own medical school. Dell Med wants to make changes and make Austin a model healthy city. I feel very fortunate to be able to participate in that.”

For the Gandhis, health became a top priority after a life-threatening experience in their family. Their older daughter, Eva, was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer, when she was 10 years old. Thanks to her unbreakable spirit and the treatment she received at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas, 16-year-old Eva is now in remission.

The Gandhis say the kindness of Eva’s care team made all the difference during her time in the hospital. They remember the little things, like a physician cutting the medical gauze she used into the shape of a heart, and the bigger things, like the care team providing a space large enough for 20 of the Gandhis’ relatives so they could have Thanksgiving dinner together at the hospital. The family’s positive experience inspired Jinesh and Devangi to help give the same hope to other families facing cancer.

An internet search brought them to Dell Med’s website, where they discovered the opportunity to join the Founders Circle as early investors in the medical school. After they toured the school and learned about Dell Med’s new approach to clinical care, Jinesh and Devangi knew they had found the place where they wanted to give and make a difference.

The Gandhis’ gift supports the adolescent and young adult cancer program at Dell Med’s Livestrong Cancer Institutes. Their gift will support the creation of much-needed specialized services and care for young adult cancer survivors like Eva. The associated clinic will provide patients and their families wraparound services, such as an in-house social worker, dietitian and fertility specialist. One of the first of its kind in the country, the clinic is set to open in December 2018. The clinic will initially focus on treating patients with gastrointestinal and gynecological cancers and will later expand its focus to include teen malignancy, head and neck, and lung cancers.

Additionally, the family also directed a portion of their gift to Dell Med’s building fund, and the school has named a simulation exam room in their honor. There, medical students undergo hands-on training in clinical care and empathy — skills the Gandhis know can make all the difference.

“I want to see more compassion and an aspect of humanity come back into the health care system,” Jinesh says.

The practice of giving back is something Eva embraces as well, especially now that she is healthy again. She currently serves as a lead fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Student of the Year campaign and sits on the Young Adult Advisory Board for the Livestrong Cancer Institutes. Additionally, she says her cancer journey piqued her interest in pursuing medicine after high school.

“As painful as the cancer was, I’m glad that it was there because it opened a lot of doors for new things,” Eva says.

The Gandhis encourage everyone to consider getting involved, whether by giving to Dell Med or to other organizations seeking to improve health care. “Health is something that is important to everyone no matter what age you are or walk of life you’re from,” Devangi says.

Athletes and supporters throughout the community recently came together to participate in the Livestrong Challenge, an annual bike ride hosted by the Livestrong Foundation benefiting the Livestrong Cancer Institutes. More than 1,800 cancer survivors and supporters participated in the event, which raised $422,515 to support Dell Med’s work to create new models of patient care and improve resources and services available to cancer patients and their families in the Austin area.

You can join us in supporting those affected by cancer by donating to the Livestrong Cancer Institutes.

“If this is something that is close to your heart, and the core belief of Dell Med’s message resonates with you, then here is an opportunity to make a difference,” Jinesh says. “I hope our gift will help make this a leading community for health care. It is money well spent.”

Published October 2018