As part of national brain tumor awareness month this year, I’d like to express my gratitude to the health care professionals who’ve made an enormous impact on my life over the past year, and who’ve been a literal lifeline of support to me and my family.
My brain tumor experience has involved entire teams of health care professionals across three states. From my initial three-day stay at Arlington Hospital Center in March 2021, to consultations, surgery, MRIs, and post-surgery care at Duke, to radiation, chemotherapy, labwork and consultations at Virginia Cancer Specialists, I shuttled between Virginia and North Carolina from March to October of 2021. I continue treatment in California with regular MRIs, adjuvant chemotherapy, and appointments with my neuro-oncologist at UC San Francisco, in addition to lab work through Quest Diagnostics. At each of these institutions I’ve been cared for by incredibly talented, dedicated, highly skilled, committed, and passionate individuals.
While I’ve already lost count of the number of times I’ve had to get lab work done, I can vividly picture the times that the lab technicians have said with reassurance, ‘this will just be a little pinch’ as they stick a needle in my arm, or have asked ‘everything OK?’ These short phrases and questions matter! When in consultations with my doctors and nurses at Duke, Virginia Cancer Specialists, Arlington Hospital Center and UCSF, I’ve been met with patience and steadiness, often in the face of very difficult questions to both ask and answer. I remember how kindly and discreetly one of my nurses helped to clean up the scabs on my head three months post-surgery during a regular consultation. I remember how tactfully and thoughtfully my doctor at Duke answered my questions regarding long term prognosis for this type of brain tumor. I remember the last day of radiation treatment. The team I’d seen daily over the course of six weeks clapped after the final session, and gave me a little angel to pin onto my shirt. I remember how grateful I was when, just two weeks ago, my neuro-oncologist began speaking with me of post-treatment life on the horizon, linking me to many of the supports offered by UCSF.
A brain tumor diagnosis brings with it an avalanche of emotions, from shock, to fear, to sadness, to grief, to doubt, to…you name it. Every time I have to schedule an MRI, get in the car to get blood work done, schedule a doctor’s appointment, coordinate medicine refills, or take a nap in the middle of the day, I’m reminded that I have a brain tumor. Every time I take a pill related to the condition, which is multiple times a day, I’m reminded why. While the initial shock has faded, it still hits at times. The front desk staff, the technicians, the PAs, RNs, my doctors…have treated me with dignity and care from the moment I step into the doors of a lab or the hospital. A friendly demeanor from hospital staff makes all the difference in the moment, and can be so reassuring.
I have tremendous respect for individuals who've chosen to work in health. I know that professionals who work with individuals affected by cancer are juggling many cases similar to or more grave than mine, and they balance long hours of patient care on top of their other professional and personal commitments amidst the ongoing pandemic.
Today, it’s with gratitude that I recognize and thank the health care professionals committed to the brain tumor community - to patients, survivors, thrivers, and our families and loved ones. Thank you for your care, thank you for your commitment to us, and thank you for your continued research, advocacy and work towards finding a cure. Thank you to these heroes who continue to provide me and my family with hope.
Photo: Posters that state 'Heroes Work Here' outside of Virginia Hospital Center, Arlington, VA
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