CANCER TAKES A TEAM

You will have many needs now.  Some will be the same old, same old, that you have had all along.  Some will be quite surprising.  Things you never thought you would be needing.

This doesn’t mean you will be needy,…. it just means you will need some experts to help along your way.  Many people think of cancer as a real drag.  It is!  When you have people helping lift the load it is a lot easier.

I’ve been working at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital for 32 years, yes that is a long time.  (Would you believe I was 2 when I started?  Well maybe not.)  Legacy Health system has a great cancer team, I’m very proud of it.  Where ever you are you will need some or all of what I’ve been a part of.

THE NURSES     I know you are counting on your doctor to be the team leader and you are right.  I’ll talk more about doctors later.  What I want you to know is that you will be spending more time with your nurses and they will have more time with you as you go through cancer.  Nurses who work with cancer patients are committed.  Some people think they should be committed.  That is just because many people are afraid of cancer.  Cancer nurses are not.  We know that more people are cured of cancer than ever before and more will survive in the years to come than anyone thought possible just a few years ago.

We like what we do. We love being with cancer patients.  We love being able to help with your symptoms.  We can’t always prevent you from getting a symptom but we can give you suggestions that will make it better a whole lot faster!  If we don’t know what to do for a symptom you are having we can find out real fast and put you on the right track.  This is what cancer nurses do.  And we like being there for you.

SO  as I say to my patients… the first rule of being a cancer patient is ..KEEP NO SECRETS FROM THE NURSE !!

CANCER IS A BUMMER!

When ever we are told that we have cancer it is a shock.  The doctor will tell us that treatments are available and give us reassurance that something can be done to help us.  But what we hear is YOU HAVE CANCER!

Nothing else gets through.     At least not a first.       So take a deep breath and let the tears come.  Tears can be cleansing and they leave you exhausted.  That is not a bad thing.  Get some rest so you can start to listen.  Cancer can be cured!  Cancer can be treated!  Cancer can be lived with and lived through!

You will need to be loved and treated like a person.  Give your family a chance to be there for you.

Your family will need time too.  You are not alone.  Cancer affects so very many people.  Your family, your friends, your co-workers, your neighbors and people you haven’t even met yet.

You have not met me yet but your cancer has and will affect my life.

I’ve spent over 20 years caring for people who have gone through what you are experiencing.  I’ve cried, I’ve laughed, I’ve hugged, I’ve prayed.  It has changed my life.

You won’t believe this but some people have actually told me cancer was the best thing that ever happened to them.

You will believe that cancer changes your life.  It doesn’t have to be all bad.

Hang in there!

 I want to give you the thing you need most……………HOPE…………HOPE IS REAL!

OUR NEW CANCER PLACE

This is our new cancer blog which is all about canre related things. It's for cancer nurses, cancer patients and the families.
Do you know sombody who has cancer? Do you have cancer?
If you answered yes then this is for you.
This is a test of our new cancer blog.