Two Diagnoses, One Determined Woman
Teamwork may take a village, but resilience comes from within— and few embody that balance better than Dapheny Fain. The longtime chief of staff to Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price has built a career on collaboration and service. Yet when faced with a life-threatening blood cancer diagnosis that was expected to cut her life short, she showed that the same teamwork and tenacity she fosters in others, also lives within her.
“How could I be dying?” an exasperated Fain asked—reeling from the news about the spread of her cancer. “I just couldn’t believe it.”
A reality-altering gut punch to a seemingly invincible woman.
For over 28 years, she’s served the communities of the Dallas-Fort Worth area—buoyed by an unwavering smile and a selfless spirit.
“I would not have been as successful if not for her,” Price said. “I work seven days a week; she works seven days a week. She does as much as I do.”
A consummate professional and self-professed “workaholic,” she often let socializing and recreational time take a backseat. Nothing could come in between or disrupt her work.
But what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?
A multiple myeloma diagnosis—and a two-year life expectancy—put both that question and Fain’s strength to the ultimate test.
If it isn’t one thing, it’s another
This wasn’t her first rodeo.
In 2010, she was diagnosed with LAM disease and given 10 years to live.
LAM is a rare progressive lung disease that causes damaging cysts in the lungs, kidneys and lymphatic system. It affects roughly one in 200,000 Americans, occurring most often in women.
Dealing with a deadly lung disease is no easy feat. But predictions aren’t promises and Fain beat the odds by living past the decade that she was originally given to live. The worst was supposed to be over—medical emergencies behind her.
Unfortunately, as it turns out, LAM was only a prelude. In early 2021, during a routine physical, Parkland Memorial Hospital doctors noticed irregularities in her bloodwork. They referred her to a hematologist for further evaluation.
A diagnosis wasn’t yet determined, but the concern about her health was crystal clear.
“I was in disbelief because I felt fine,” Fain said.
There wasn’t any back pain, unusual fatigue or shortness of breath, so how could there be anything else wrong?
The lab results and the conversation that followed were hard for her to process, coming at such an inopportune time—already juggling the challenges of living with LAM alongside the demands of her job.
“There’s nothing wrong with me,” she remembered thinking—initially denouncing any need to seek any further medical examination. “But since I had so much faith in Parkland’s doctors, I took their advice.”
A series of tests later, the chief of staff was first diagnosed with smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM), a precancerous condition characterized by the presence of abnormal plasma cells in the bone marrow that is seen as a precursor for the more deadly multiple myeloma.
Even with continued monitoring and treatment, her protein levels remained elevated, and in January 2023, she was diagnosed with full multiple myeloma.
Little was certain at this point in time—her future, life expectancy, or career—but the reality that she was once again confronting an aggressive and unpredictable disease felt like a cruel echo of the past.
Worst case of déjà vu
“What is it, God? Why me?” Fain hopelessly asked.
The familiarity of the news was jarring. One mountain seemed difficult enough to climb, yet she climbed it and like most, expected a less arduous road to follow. Instead, she conquered a medical Mount Everest, only to find another peak waiting in the distance—steeper, colder than the last.
So, when cancer threw yet another wrench into Fain’s life, it not only disrupted her world but also affected those who depended on her.
“I was in the abyss,” said Price upon learning that his longtime friend and colleague of 29 years was diagnosed with cancer. “I just remember being devastated.”
Those feelings were shared among family and friends—with everyone dreading an immediate future without their beloved sister, cousin, or chief of staff.
But time was truly of the essence with Fain needing high-dose chemotherapy as she prepared for a lifesaving stem cell (bone marrow) transplant, a procedure that she remembers being told she needed to survive.
“She has to undergo a stem cell transplant or she’s not going to make it,” Fain recalled hearing the words that sent her into a deep prayer. She also remembered the warnings about how sick she’d become after the operation.
The stage was officially set. This was the fight of a lifetime.
And June 2, 2023, the day of the transplant, marked the sound of the opening bell—the first round in her battle for survival.
Fighting for her life
In the initial days following the procedure, Fain experienced little to no side effects. Ever the professional, she even brought her laptop in to get some work done—a small but satisfying victory. Score one for Dapheny, zero for side effects.
But the sixth day marked a change for the worse. “I’ve never been that sick in my life, I could barely get out of bed,” she recalled—even having to crawl to the restroom.
She compared the experience to being a newborn baby. Very limited autonomy, no desire to leave the bed and rendered immobile—entirely dependent on others for everything.
“It was bad, but I was determined to not let this win,” she said.
Because for Fain, this wasn’t about pride or an unwillingness to relinquish independence—it was about courage. Possessing the mental and physical fortitude to push forward even when her body literally refused to cooperate.
“The love and encouragement from my family, friends and Commissioner Price were my mental therapy. That support carried me through the most difficult days,” she said.
Courage is her superpower
Her determination during recovery was so remarkable that she was discharged a mere 14 days after her transplant. “They evicted me by the 14th day,” Fain joked. “But I was so happy to be headed home.”
Before she could return home, her house had to be thoroughly cleaned to prevent infection—a precaution made necessary courtesy of the new cells working to rebuild her immune system.
The journey was anything but smooth, and at times the odds seemed unbeatable. But Fain achieved victory in January 2025 with the word she had long hoped to hear.
Remission.
She celebrated in the hospital room—letting out a well-earned victory cry, having overcome two rare and life-threatening diseases that were both predicted to cut her years short.
Her secret weapon: courage.
“There’s no greater virtue than courage, and I saw Dapheny work through courage in a way that only Dapheny could,” Price said. That same courage that she had even as a little girl growing up back in a small East Texas town, helping others fight against discrimination.
She was always a chief of staff, even if the title hadn’t been bestowed just yet. This is who Dapheny Fain has always been—coordinating efforts, guiding decisions and standing behind the people and causes she believed in.
Her purpose and destiny can’t be stopped—LAM disease and multiple myeloma just had to find out the hard way they’d met their match.
“I owe my life to Parkland’s and UT Southwestern’s medical teams,” Fain concluded. “Every day is a gift, and I encourage any other cancer patients to keep moving, keep believing and to never give up.”
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