Beth Newell, a Butler native, moved to Dallas in December 2014 to be closer to someone she loved, her boyfriend, Paul “Tall Paul” Reichard.

She left with near nothing in savings, and when she arrived, there wasn’t a warm cozy home waiting to welcome her. There were only the cold white walls of the hospital.

Reichard was dressed in a medical gown and lay in a bed as cancer slowly ate away at his body.

Before Reichard was admitted to the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, the couple raised around $50,000 to get him specialized treatment in Switzerland.

A 7-foot-tall man, Reichard experienced extreme difficulty getting treatment and hospital accommodations with late-stage breast cancer, which commonly afflicts women. Newell said Reichard’s cancer was diagnosed late because it is rare in men, further complicating his case.

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer in men is rare. Based on estimates from the organization’s statistic center, in 2016 roughly 1 percent of the estimated 249,260 new cases of breast cancer involved male patients.

“There are many similarities between breast cancer in men and women, but there are some important differences that affect finding it early,” the site reads.

The site attributes diagnosis issues to lack of awareness and the male breast structure.

The male breast contains little breast tissue making it easier to feel for tumors, which are often smaller than those found in women, but usually by the time one is detected, it is often too late for a simple removal.

“So even though breast cancers in men tend to be slightly smaller than in women when they are first found, they more often have already spread to nearby tissues or lymph nodes,” the site said.

Newell said after beating cancer once earlier in his life, Reichard was receiving regular physicals, but by the time doctors correctly diagnosed Reichard’s breast cancer, it had metastasized.

She said a clinic in Switzerland appeared to be their only hope, and they were seeing results.

“While in Switzerland, the treatments were wonderful, and he was making good progress,” Newell said.

After receiving the major parts of the treatment in Switzerland, Reichard returned to the U.S. to continue with follow-up treatment. Then his condition moved rapidly in the wrong direction, Newell said.

“We just could never get in front of it,” she said.

Newell said each time Reichard needed surgery to remove tumors, the cancer treatment had to stop to prevent further damage to his body.

“The tumors were starting to take away his functioning,” she said. “It was the physical result of the tumors eating away at him.”

Newell said she had commuted for months between Pennsylvania and Texas to earn some money but when Reichard’s condition looked ominous, she made a decision.

“I came to visit him and just never went home,” she said.

That’s when she decided to stay and make the Baylor University Medical Center her home for the rest of Reichard’s life, nearly six months. She said she never expected that time to go so quick.

“I felt like I was in a war zone every day in that hospital with him,” she said. “I felt called to be there with Paul, until the end.”

Despite the lack of time, Newell had many conversations with Reichard about life, death and their shared faith. She said sometimes he was afraid, but their faith helped guide them through their conversations, both dark and light.

“There were days that he was very fearful, and we would work through that,” she said. “(But,) he never lost his sense of humor.”

Newell said Reichard was unconscious the last few days of his life, but she remembers the last time she had a conversation with him. She said she had never seen him so urgent.

“He had this urgency that he had to talk to all the nurses about Jesus,” she said.

Then Reichard said something that caught Newell off guard.

“He kept saying, ‘I’m going to be healed,’” she said. “I believe God was preparing him.”

Newell said Reichard appeared to stay alive just long enough for everyone he loved to be by his side, and then he died peacefully.

Reichard was cremated, and a celebration of life was conducted in his honor.

“We never talked about what a funeral would look like,” Newell said. “(So,) we had everyone wear (Dallas) Mavericks gear.”

She said she thinks Reichard would have appreciated the ceremony. Reichard was passionate about basketball and was a longtime Dallas Mavericks fan.

Newell said Reichard’s death was hard, but once again, her faith gave her wisdom.

“From a selfish standpoint, I wanted him to stay,” she said. “But from a faith perspective, his struggle is gone, and he got to go home.”

After Reichard’s death, Newell considered returning to Butler but decided to remain in Texas.

“I felt like I needed a fresh start,” she said. “There was a lot of Paul that lived in Butler.”

Since then, Newell has had time to reflect. She said she realized that her Christian faith made her relationship with Reichard possible and powered her through all the tough times.

Newell said it saddens her that so many families are broken by the disease, but she can see from her time with Reichard in the hospital, the struggles that force families into drastic situations.

“These families that are hurting are moving farther and farther apart,” she said.

She said it is important for families to find a faith to believe in.

“It gave me a front-row seat to the devastation it can have on a family,” she said. “You need something to be stronger than the struggle.”

“Finding faith in something bigger than yourself is the most important thing because you can’t do it alone,” Newell said.

Newell said she was lucky too. She said many people rose to help her and Reichard in their time of need, including people from the Butler County community. She said all the donations made it possible to get treatment in Switzerland and help pay for medical expenses, which were high due to his lack of insurance.

“I’m so blessed to come from a community that could come together and support me when it counts,” she said. “I’m just really grateful for the part that they played.”

Newell said she has continued to move forward in her life. She has entered into a new relationship, something she hadn’t thought would happen so quickly. Newell said future relationships were something she and Reichard discussed and came to terms with. She said her new boyfriend is understanding and accepting of the role Reichard had in her life — and his memory will continue to have.

“I’m excited about the future and I’ll carry all my experience from the past few years with me,” Newell said. “I am so grateful. He was a huge blessing in my life.”