Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, Steps4Cancer has awarded 11 Cancer Care Grants to citizens of Revere who are currently undergoing cancer treatment and 6 scholarships to Revere High School graduates who have demonstrated a commitment to community service in Revere and/or are pursuing advanced degrees in a healthcare related field.
We have also supported 5 awards for nurses at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston to promote and support their relationship based nursing practices which positively impact the patients under their care. See the blog post below with contributions from two nurses who have benefitted from this program.
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If you would like to support our efforts with a donation, click on the following link, or you can mail a check directly to Steps4Cancer, 14 Proctor Avenue, Revere, MA 02151.
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Dana-Farber nurses embrace opportunities for patient care and connections
May 7, 2018
When research or infusion nurses join the Dana-Farber staff, veteran nurse
Peg Lance, RN, OCN, always likes to tell them: “Welcome to your last employer.”
She says it in jest, but Lane insists that often it winds up being true. Dana-Farber adult and pediatric nurses share a dedication to their patients and each other that translates to longevity. To mark
National Nurses Week May 6-12, Lance and fellow Dana-Farber nurses
Laura Ma, RN, BSN; Despina Stavros, RN, BSN; and
Kristina Wickman, RN, MSN, share what drew them to oncology and what they enjoy most about it.
“I find it fascinating, being privy to the newest science that is going to truly make a difference in patients’ lives,” says Lance, who came to Dana-Farber as a “night nurse” in 1974 and has been a research nurse the past nine years. “There is a lengthy process that every new clinical trial must go through before patients have an opportunity to participate in it, and I am constantly learning. Being surrounded by professionals who have given their whole adult life to increasing the lives of their patients is a wonderful feeling.”
Ma, a program nurse in Head and Neck Oncology who came to Dana-Farber in 2011, concurs. “The amazing impact that oncology nurses have on patient care, and the relationships they build with patients and families is humbling,” says Ma, who in June will become director of nursing for The Solid Tumor Program. “When patients are diagnosed and treated for cancer, they are thrust into a highly technical medical field. Nursing is the bridge between the technical and the personal.”
Ma takes pride in “navigating patients through their treatment, and empowering them with knowledge about their disease, treatment, and how to manage symptoms.” For Wickman, a staff nurse in Dana-Farber’s Inpatient Hospital, located within Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the field has been “by far, the most rewarding” part of her life. “We meet patients from all over the United States and the world, and they bring with them their own remarkable life stories and experiences,” says Wickman. “Being part of a dynamic team of doctors, nurses, social workers, and other support staff, we take care of them during an incredibly vulnerable time in their lives.”
Lane, Ma, and Wickman all care for adult patients. Stavros has been a pediatric nurse in the Jimmy Fund Clinic for seven years, preceded by 22 years split between the bone marrow transplant team and Radiology at Dana-Farber’s pediatric care partner, Boston Children’s Hospital. In these varied roles, she has developed a rapport with young patients and their families. “I try and find out different things about each family,” says Stavros, who in 2017 received the
Excellence in Relationship-Based Care Award from Dana-Farber’s Department of Nursing and Patient Care Services. “This is a fast-paced environment, so it’s important to make that personal connection.” And after a patient gets better and returns to the clinic as an adult, the memories come rushing back. “When you see someone sitting there, and suddenly recognize them, that’s the best feeling in the world.” Says Stavros. “That’s what it’s all about.”
- Saul Wisnia
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If you would like to support our efforts with a donation, click on the following link, or you can mail a check directly to Steps4Cancer, 14 Proctor Avenue, Revere, MA 02151.
