A “Noteworthy” Guest: Roy Willis
Recent Caring House guests, Roy and his wife Patty, describe themselves as “water people”. Originally from Texas, they used to enjoy sailing their boat down to Florida or the Bahamas and then back to Houston. Eventually, the NC coast called their name and they moved, along with their boat named Noteworthy, to New Bern, NC.

As NC residents, Roy explained that Duke Hospital is their top choice in the face of any medical crisis. “They have doctors in New Bern”, Roy said, “but if there is anything serious going on we know to come to Duke”. As a prostate cancer survivor, Roy already understood the importance of seeking out the best medical treatment available. Therefore, when he was diagnosed with blood leukemia in 2018 after a routine check-up, he knew exactly where to go.
Through Duke, Roy and Patty discovered Caring House. Roy’s doctor prescribed a low-grade chemotherapy that would be administered over the course of 5 days and would need to be repeated once every month. When determining where they would stay for these recurring 5-day treatments, the Duke concierge mentioned Caring House.
Having stayed in a motel during his treatment for prostate cancer, Roy and Patty were blown away by the accommodations offered by Caring House. “There is no comparison, Caring House is so clean and neat and they feed you 4 or 5 times a week”. With a crackling fireplace and a homey environment, Roy explained that “Caring House wants to take care of you”.
We are happy to report that Roy is responding well to his treatment and has full faith in his doctors at Duke Cancer Institute. While we selfishly love having Roy and Patty at Caring House, we look forward to the day when they are both back out on the water.