Oncology nursing

Cancer sucks!!! Each day, i see people who fight this terrible disease. Sometimes, i wonder if its worth it. At other times, i think it is. The times i question if it's worth it is when i don't know what the docs are aiming for and i feel the patient is being drained of their last bit of life they have. Sometimes, it looks like a trial and error thing.

People think of AIDS as the most terrible disease. I think Cancer is worse. And in view of that, i respect all those who fight the disease because i know it's worth fighting, even if you lose in the end, you can still say, you fought a good fight. The truth is, some people fight cancer and win. So yeah, is it worth fighting even if it looks as if you're losing? Absolutely! Because you never know what a day may bring forth. I believe there's always hope even if you don't see it.

I admire every patient i've come across here. While i grief with the families of those who fought and loss, i do admire those who lost the battle because to me, they are great warriors, they fought and held on till the end where everything they had, and everything they did not have, just could not stand anymore.

Most of the stuff you hear is a patient dying on the night you did not work and oh, there are those who do die, on your shift.Sometimes, you wonder what you can do. At other times, you look and tell yourself there's nothing you could have done. You look for a day when you can hear something better than someone crashing and being sent to the ICU or hearing that the person who was walking around perfectly the previous night when you were working, actually passed away 6 hours after you left.

Well, Once in a while you do. And when you do, it sounds more like you are the one who's heard the good news. You become excited first and go, oh i'm sure the patient is also excited. Then you think of the first time you met the patient, how anxious they were about their diagnosis, your first impression of them as some anxious impatient person, and then you also think of how over the weeks or months, you've grown to known the person, stood by their side as they fought tirelessly with a strength they did not have, and you think of how that first impression has changed over the course of time now and how you've become good buddies. You suddenly realise all they need now is for their counts to come up so they can go home. It brings tears to your eyes. i'm not sure if they're tears of joy because i don't know how i feel. But they definately are good tears. You are happy for the patient and you are also happy that they are cancer free, at least for now. You pray and hope nothing shows up again. So, I heard a patients bone marrow bx came back clear. Good news, huh? You bet it is.

Welcome to oncology nursing. It's different, it can be sad and it can be fun. It can be relaxing, and it can also be hectic. The patients are different - they are the kind that use the energy and breath they do not have to say "thank you" for the least thing you do for them. And there is another difference to it i cannot describe. That, is what makes it special. I'm still a student and finding my way way around but i'm confident to say it's a special kind of nursing to get into.