CURE® Extraordinary Healer® Vol. 16

My oncology nurse has been making connections with her patients for more than 20 years. I’m forever grateful I was lucky to be her patient.

Through the support she provides, Stacey eases the load for patients with cancer and doctors alike.

Cheryl’s helpfulness in caring for her patients is very evident, as she is always using her spare time to make sure the patient is comfortable during their stay.

"I do not know how I would have gotten through my (cancer) diagnosis, treatment and recovery without … my amazing oncology nurse, my sister."

Megan McCarthy, RN, is the very essence of a great nurse, one person said.

A nurse worked tirelessly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that her unit was running like a well-oiled machine.

The care received by our patients (with cancer) has been described as “exemplary,” an incredible achievement for an infusion center that was a revolving door for short-term travel nurses with little-to-no full-time staff to provide the continuity of care that oncology nurses are well-known and admired for.

I am forever grateful that my life has been blessed and touched by this angel on earth.

As Vicki puts it, she envisions her role as nurse manager as helping patients have the best possible journey from the minute they walk through the doors.

A patient would come home from chemotherapy and tell his family how much he enjoyed "visiting" with his oncology nurse.

When someone receives a diagnosis of cancer, it is probably one of the scariest times in their life. A nurse not only needs to provide good care, she also needs to be a good listener.

They work as a team always. In this way, they are always up-to-date on each and every patient’s condition and needs.

That first exposure to caring for critically ill patients started an oncology nurse on a journey that created a legacy.

She advocates for her patients’ needs and escalates pertinent information to the interdisciplinary team to be able to provide the best care possible.

If I get nervous about a test result, she always takes time to talk with my husband and me about it and explain what the results mean.

Every year, she helps coordinate fundraising for other lung cancer groups and research efforts. She is totally committed to the lung cancer community and her patients.

While one woman always assumed her aunt Judy provided excellent cancer care, she learned it firsthand upon her own diagnosis.

“I feel her strength, and because of Lorelei — the way she makes me feel comfortable and confident; the way she cares deeply for me, her other patients and colleagues; and her always professional attitude and manner — I realize that, like other obstacles, I will eventually be able to face this, too,” writes one nurse’s patient in an essay nominating her for CURE®’s 2022 Extraordinary Healer award.

As anyone who has sat at the bedside of a terminally ill patient knows, those who hold out a hand — literally or figuratively — to help a patient and their loved ones is a hero to them.

According to a colleague, Christine Wylie, M.S.N., RN, OCN, is an excellent resource for patients with cancer.

Laura Wood, M.S.N., RN, OCN, has "skill, dedication, boundless compassion and drive to improve the lives of those affected by kidney cancer."

Donna MacDonald, B.S.N., RN, OCN, CCM, goes beyond her duties as a nurse to advocate and support her patients.

Courtney Huffstetler, M.S.N., RN, OCN, is dedicated to breaking down barriers to cancer care.

Ilene Galinsky, ANP-BC, "had the courage to fiercely stand up for her patients’ best interests despite conventions of rank, seniority and arbitrary rules," a colleague said.

An oncology nurse strives to educate patients and providers to ensure safe cancer treatment.

Christine Amoroso, B.S.N., RN, OCN, figured out the best way to deliver direct-to-kidney treatment for her patients.

"You have to have compassion — the ability to put yourself in the patient or family’s shoes and know what they’re going through," said an oncology nurse who was a finalist for 2022 Extraordinary Healer® award.

From her earliest childhood days, Tammy Allred, RN, OCN, had a vision for her future: to soothe and to heal.

An interview with Livia Szeto, B.S.N., RN, OCN, a finalist for the 2022 Extraordinary Healer® award.