The June issue of ONS Connect is cover-to-cover with survivorship. It's so exciting to see this topic come into its own and develop into a new area of study and knowledge. With nearly 12 million and 28 million survivors alive today in the US and around the world, respectively, it's about time (National Cancer Institute, 2008; Lance Armstrong Foundation, 2009). As I reflected over all the cancer survivors in my own life, I didn't have to look very far - just right across the hallway - to a nurse colleague. Mary (not her real name) is a thyroid and melanoma cancer survivor. Her husband has been living with "terminal" lung cancer for the past four years. That's right - "terminal" and "four years" - it's a recurring theme in cancer survivorship thanks to advances in knowledge and medicine.
She went in for a routine exam, her doctor palpated a thyroid nodule, the biopsy was negative, but they decided to remove it anyway. The postsurgical pathology report showed the nodule was malignant. When Mary found out she had cancer and it was removed, she thought nonchalantly, "So, I have cancer." She credits her attitude to her own cancer to living through her husband's diagnosis when he was told he had three to six months to live; they subsequently made some "stupid mistakes," selling their home and waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Until they "threw out the book with the statistics" and started living their lives.
Mary continues to watch her husband live with cancer and she knew she could live with it, too. "Cancer is not synonymous with death. Life is synonymous with death," she chirps. Six months after her thyroid cancer excision, Mary found a questionable spot on her ear - melanoma. She had it removed on an outpatient basis, and says the hardest part of having cancer was telling her children. Neither her nor her husband have a family history of cancer, but "now my children do."
It's no different as stage I or stage IV, Mary says her life has changed greatly as a cancer survivor - physically, emotionally, and mentally. She confidently says it's better because cancer made her straighten her priorities. She now does yoga, prioritizes concerns, does "everything within reason to give [herself] the best shot [at health], and enjoys the day. Boy, does she. I love working and being around her. She and her husband also now have a "bucket list," and they are whittling it down - buying their dream home last fall and taking a first-class, week-long cruise with college friends this summer. I took away a great lesson from her - start living today. "Don't wait until you have cancer." Wait. What? Me? Cancer? Oh, yeah...As I start to see statistics in my mind my bucket list is forming and growing.
As survivorship continuous to grow into its own unique area, I'm curious to learn from other nurses living with cancer. There were several nurse cancer survivors that spoke at ONS Congress. If you attended any of their sessions, what did you learn? How are nurse cancer survivors impacting survivorship in your own practice and lives?
A few related links you may enjoy:
A nurse with cancer blogs about missing work: http://beingcancer.net/2009/06/04/missing-nursing/
"Coping with Cancer" author and nurse on the receiving end of a cancer diagnosis: http://detnews.com/article/20090617/OPINION03/906170329/1005/LIFESTYLE/Nurse-follows-own-cancer-advice
Posted by: Joni Watson | June 17, 2009 at 12:45 PM
I appreciated your reference to my post "Missing Nursing" on my blog www.beingcancer.net. The site is part of a growing cancer blogging community and was recently on a list of "The Top 50 Cancer Sites and Blogs". I think that was one of my better posts but that is understandable with so many rich experiences over the course of my career as cancer nurse and cancer patient. I was wondering if you accepted 'guest blogs"? Please advise. And keep up the excellent work. Dennis
Posted by: Dennis Pyritz, RN | June 23, 2009 at 09:50 PM
I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer 10 years ago. I had a mastectomy, chemo and radiation which took close to a year. At the time I was a Nursing Supervisor but 2 years after my diagnosis a Cancer Resource Nurse position opened up, I applied and got it. I love working with the cancer patients every day. I tell them I have walked a mile in their shoes and they relate to me very well. The women I help by giving them hints on wigs and letting them know it is ok to cry and it can get better with time. Even the men feel more comfortable to talk with me once they know I had cancer too. I feel blessed in this job with all the patients and families that I meet. I hope that I make a difference in their lives as they are taking the cancer journey. Of course there are the sad days when I help the patients and their families at their journeys end as well. But all in all I feel that my cancer experience has helped me to live each day to the fullest and to allow me to instill this thinking into my patients and their families. Val
Posted by: Val | July 10, 2009 at 11:47 AM