A journey shared: Navigating cancer as a caretaker, nurse, and patient

A journey shared: Navigating cancer as a caretaker, nurse, and patient 
Oncology Nursing News; by Charlotte Goor, BSN, RN, OCN; 7/9/24 
An oncology nurse's experience with mother's cancer and her own BRCA2 diagnosis shapes her approach to patient care. “She had a tumor the size of a cantaloupe,” the surgeon said. I felt like the world had caved in on me and I was suffocating in its core. I was 22 years old when my mother developed a mysterious “bulge” in her lower abdomen—stage 4 ovarian cancer, as it turned out. As a bonus, we learned that both she and I carried the BRCA2 gene mutation, which meant that I was at an increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer as well." The ensuing journey from caregiver to nurse to patient has profoundly shaped my nursing practice by providing unique insights and deepening my empathy. ...