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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Below is our promotional video from 2016

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During the summer of 2013, a colleague of Leah's was solicing knitters for her "Call for Shawls", an initiative she and her cancer-survivor friend began at a local Boston Hospital to knit shawls and hats to help keep people undergoing cancer treatment warm and wrapped in love.  

As many of you know, Rosemary was an avid knitter.  She always had her knitting needles with her, making a feather and fan blankets for a new baby on the way within our family or a grandchild within her wide group of friends.  I knew that my mom would be the first to donate her time to knit for this initiative, and although she had passed away the year prior, there was still a way she could contribute - through her yarn!  

My mom has an expansive collection of yarn, for all of those "someday" projects, so I sent several boxes of yarn to my colleague for the knitters to use.  Attached is the article written by my colleagues friend, one of the origniators of this kindness project, and her mention of mom and her yarn is heartwarming.  

Even in her absence, Rosemary continues to give.  Thanks to all of you, who also continue to give in her honor.