ArcaMax

Working with nurses who patiently and compassionately and skillfully completed my treatments and answered my endless questions brought a close bond among us.

There can be a letdown feeling after chemo is completed, when you know you won’t see these wonderful nurses very often and after a while, not at all.

I went through a sort of grieving process, knowing that my relationship with the nurses was now changed, even though we celebrated the end of the treatments.

And unless you have gone through serious surgeries or other treatments for serious diseases, you don’t realize that just because treatment is over, the person may not be himself or herself for quite a while yet.

I have been guilty of that sort of thinking, myself, before my own ordeal.

Each of us has to get through treatments in our own way and also get through the aftermath of treatments.

– Grateful for My Nurses

Dear Grateful: You describe an almost surreal topsy-turvy experience where because of the everyday isolation brought on by the pandemic, your contact with oncology nurses and hospital staff during your treatment became a social lifeline for you.

Talk about the “half full” glass!

Thank you so much for offering this perspective, as well as singing the praises of these wonderful nurses, who see and treat their patients through extremely challenging times.

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