Most, if not all, of you know that I am an oncology nurse. The reaction I get most often is "isn't that depressing?" or "I could never do that". Those statements are commonly made with a "I'm so sorry you have to deal with that" look.
I usually just respond with, "I love my job." Because I do. I truly love what I do.
Is it depressing? I would be lying if I said no. But I would also be lying if I said my job isn't full of joy, fun, and laughter. Not everyone with a cancer diagnosis is dying. C-a-n-c-e-r spells cancer...not death. It spells a challenge to overcome. Yes, people die from cancer. I've seen the disease take way too many people from their friends and family way too early. My patients and their families are wonderful people. I take great pride in being able to comfort a family when they come in, deer in headlights, having just heard "You have cancer". I take great pride in being able to give them hope and make them believe that they WILL make it through. No, it won't be easy but it can be done. And if, sadly, the treatments don't work I take great pride in being able to be there for the patient and their family. It is amazing how, sometimes (many times), we as nurses become extended family. We grieve with them. We cry, we laugh, and yes, we get scared too.
Honestly, it doesn't bother me when people say "Oh, I could never do that". Well, we're lucky there are people who can. I could never work with kids, or in the operating room, or in OB/Gyn. I'm lucky there are people who can.
My co-workers on 6-3400 get me through. I look forward to going to work because it means I get to spend time with some of my best friends. We have seen each other cry, we make each other laugh (A LOT), and we are genuinely good friends. I think our patients appreciate that we are all so close and that we make such a great team. I have had so many people tell us how great it is to be on our floor because we are all so "fun" or because we all "get along so well". We really do. I am so very lucky to work with the people I do :)
So, that is why I do and why I do it. It is also why I run and raise money. I would be perfectly okay if I woke up one day and didn't have a job...that would mean we found a cure for cancer and oncology nurses weren't needed anymore. Please donate and help me find a cure.
xoxo
Cassie
http://pages.teamintraining.org/wny/nikesf09/cadamsemxc
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Kim...
Kim has been a friend of Bryan's family for years and years. Thanksgiving for Bryan is spent at Kim's home (I can't say that I've had Thanksgiving dinner there yet..hear its awesome! But I did partake in some turkey coma Rock Band last year). Kim is a typical 20-something...hanging out with friends, going to school, the usual. Except Kim can say something that the majority of 20-somethings cannot...Kim is a cancer survivor. In her short time on this Earth, Kim has been diagnosed with, treated for, and in remission from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Here's her story in her own words:
"At the beginning of my senior year in college right after I turned 21 I started noticing that I was out of breath when going to the gym, or climbing stairs. I just chalked it up to being out of shape. I continued to go to the gym to increase my stamina (haha), but within a few weeks the shortness of breath had gotten worse and reached the point where I could walk to my classes from my car at school without having to stop b/c I was so out of breath. By October I also started having pounding headaches, I lived on the 3rd floor of my house at school and by the time I climbed three flights of stairs I had horrible pounding headaches. The headaches were so bad I had to lie down immediately by the time I would reach my room. At this point I thought something was wrong, nothing major, I was assuming allergies or maybe I was anemic for some reason (haha, major understatement!). I called my mom b/c she is a nurse and she should have the answer to everything :) She told me to go make an appointment with the school health services. I made my appointment, met with a nurse and I explained my shortness of breath and headaches and how at the symptoms had gotten so bad that I had barely made it from the parking lot to the office. The nurse had no idea what was wrong and she told me to wait while she went and to get the doctor. The doctor came in and I explained everything to her... she told me she had just read an article on exercise induced headaches and that is probably what I had. She told me that I should walk slower and to come back in two weeks if things didn't get better. After hearing that, I made an appointment with my primary care doctor in Rochester. I drove home on a Friday for my appointment, and met with my nurse practitioner. She wasn't too sure what was wrong, but decided to draw some blood to see if any of the values were off. I went back to school Monday and Tuesday morning I received an urgent call from my primary care doctor, she told me to get to Strong's emergency room as soon as possible, but to have someone drive me because my red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells were dangerously low.
After being in the emergency department for 48 hours, countless blood tests, two blood transfusions and two bone marrow biopsies later I was admitted onto Strong's oncology unit and told that I had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Within 24 hours of being diagnosed, my central line (somewhat like a semi-permanent IV into my chest that I would receive all my treatments through) was placed and I began treatment.
My treatment protocol was 25 months long, I received traditional IV chemotherapy, Intrathecal chemotherapy, and radiation to my brain.
I'm so happy to say that I finished treatment in December of 2006 and have continued to have perfectly normal check-ups ever since."
Kim graduated from Binghamton in 2006 with her Bachelor's in political science and just graduated this past May from the U of R with her Bachelor's in nursing :) She also volunteers with several cancer support groups in the community and pretty much rocks my world. I am running for Kim. At mile 22, when I hit the wall, I will think of Kim. And at the finish I will thank Kim for getting me through :)
xoxo
http://pages.teamintraining.org/wny/nikesf09/cadamsemxc
"At the beginning of my senior year in college right after I turned 21 I started noticing that I was out of breath when going to the gym, or climbing stairs. I just chalked it up to being out of shape. I continued to go to the gym to increase my stamina (haha), but within a few weeks the shortness of breath had gotten worse and reached the point where I could walk to my classes from my car at school without having to stop b/c I was so out of breath. By October I also started having pounding headaches, I lived on the 3rd floor of my house at school and by the time I climbed three flights of stairs I had horrible pounding headaches. The headaches were so bad I had to lie down immediately by the time I would reach my room. At this point I thought something was wrong, nothing major, I was assuming allergies or maybe I was anemic for some reason (haha, major understatement!). I called my mom b/c she is a nurse and she should have the answer to everything :) She told me to go make an appointment with the school health services. I made my appointment, met with a nurse and I explained my shortness of breath and headaches and how at the symptoms had gotten so bad that I had barely made it from the parking lot to the office. The nurse had no idea what was wrong and she told me to wait while she went and to get the doctor. The doctor came in and I explained everything to her... she told me she had just read an article on exercise induced headaches and that is probably what I had. She told me that I should walk slower and to come back in two weeks if things didn't get better. After hearing that, I made an appointment with my primary care doctor in Rochester. I drove home on a Friday for my appointment, and met with my nurse practitioner. She wasn't too sure what was wrong, but decided to draw some blood to see if any of the values were off. I went back to school Monday and Tuesday morning I received an urgent call from my primary care doctor, she told me to get to Strong's emergency room as soon as possible, but to have someone drive me because my red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells were dangerously low.
After being in the emergency department for 48 hours, countless blood tests, two blood transfusions and two bone marrow biopsies later I was admitted onto Strong's oncology unit and told that I had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Within 24 hours of being diagnosed, my central line (somewhat like a semi-permanent IV into my chest that I would receive all my treatments through) was placed and I began treatment.
My treatment protocol was 25 months long, I received traditional IV chemotherapy, Intrathecal chemotherapy, and radiation to my brain.
I'm so happy to say that I finished treatment in December of 2006 and have continued to have perfectly normal check-ups ever since."
Kim graduated from Binghamton in 2006 with her Bachelor's in political science and just graduated this past May from the U of R with her Bachelor's in nursing :) She also volunteers with several cancer support groups in the community and pretty much rocks my world. I am running for Kim. At mile 22, when I hit the wall, I will think of Kim. And at the finish I will thank Kim for getting me through :)
xoxo
http://pages.teamintrainin
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
First Post!
Welcome! I've decided to hop on the bandwagon and start a blog. I was initially going to use this blog as a means to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (I'll get there in a minute) but then thought it would be fun to post regularly and keep friends and family updated on life in the house of Adams.
Things are busy right now - it is summer after all. Bryan is working and has grad class twice a week. He does, however, get half days on Fridays so that's a plus. I am working and taking a grad class...I do not get Fridays off. But, then again, I only work 4 days a week anyway! We will be going to Maine with my family in a couple of weeks. So looking forward to spending the week with my husband, parents, sisters, nephews, and brother-in-laws. This will be our 12th annual trip to the beach. It's Bryan's second and I know he's looking forward to it. It just isn't summer without a week on the Maine coast!
We have been homeowners for a month now and we are slowly but surely getting settled in. We've had our first major mishap...I put a potato (ok, several potatoes) down the garbage disposal and clogged the drain. The basement flooded. We called Roto Rooter, paid a good amount of money, and now have a functioning drain again.
Running is also keeping me busy this summer. I am running a marathon in October so I have been trying to fit training in around my 12 hour shifts and schoolwork. So far so good! I am running with Team in Training - a program of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that provides coaches, travel, and race fees in exchange for fundraising!
I will be running the Nike Women's Marathon in San Fransisco on October 18th. My goal is to raise $3800, 75% of which goes toward research and patient support at the Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester (where I work!) and Roswell Park in Buffalo. Leukemia and lymphoma is close to my heart as I am an oncology nurse at Strong Memorial Hospital (at U of R) and almost all of my patients have some form of leukemia or lymphoma.
I am running in honor of Kim. Kim has been a friend of Bryan's family for years and I have known her for a little over a year now. She is a wonderful young woman who kicked leukemia's butt and now provides support for other young cancer survivors as well as young people undergoing treatment. I will share more about Kim and her road to remission in a later post.
Bottom line..cancer sucks. Please donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and help find a cure for blood cancers!
Here is a link to my fundraising page. If you'd like to donate by check, drop me an email - cassiern124@gmail.com and I'll give you the lowdown!
http://pages.teamintraining.org/wny/nikesf09/cadamsemxc
Things are busy right now - it is summer after all. Bryan is working and has grad class twice a week. He does, however, get half days on Fridays so that's a plus. I am working and taking a grad class...I do not get Fridays off. But, then again, I only work 4 days a week anyway! We will be going to Maine with my family in a couple of weeks. So looking forward to spending the week with my husband, parents, sisters, nephews, and brother-in-laws. This will be our 12th annual trip to the beach. It's Bryan's second and I know he's looking forward to it. It just isn't summer without a week on the Maine coast!
We have been homeowners for a month now and we are slowly but surely getting settled in. We've had our first major mishap...I put a potato (ok, several potatoes) down the garbage disposal and clogged the drain. The basement flooded. We called Roto Rooter, paid a good amount of money, and now have a functioning drain again.
Running is also keeping me busy this summer. I am running a marathon in October so I have been trying to fit training in around my 12 hour shifts and schoolwork. So far so good! I am running with Team in Training - a program of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that provides coaches, travel, and race fees in exchange for fundraising!
I will be running the Nike Women's Marathon in San Fransisco on October 18th. My goal is to raise $3800, 75% of which goes toward research and patient support at the Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester (where I work!) and Roswell Park in Buffalo. Leukemia and lymphoma is close to my heart as I am an oncology nurse at Strong Memorial Hospital (at U of R) and almost all of my patients have some form of leukemia or lymphoma.
I am running in honor of Kim. Kim has been a friend of Bryan's family for years and I have known her for a little over a year now. She is a wonderful young woman who kicked leukemia's butt and now provides support for other young cancer survivors as well as young people undergoing treatment. I will share more about Kim and her road to remission in a later post.
Bottom line..cancer sucks. Please donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and help find a cure for blood cancers!
Here is a link to my fundraising page. If you'd like to donate by check, drop me an email - cassiern124@gmail.com and I'll give you the lowdown!
http://pages.teamintrainin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)