Becoming a Nurse after cancer history

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Jun 9, 2016

I've never had a life threatening disease, though my DH has beaten cancer and gone on to achieve great things in his career. But I just wanted to congratulate you on achieving a meaningful remission. Go YOU!

Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN · Jun 10, 2016

"1. Is there anyone who became a nurse after a life threatening disease? What is your story (if you would like to share)? Why did you choose nursing? Was it a good decision? Why?"

I was a nurse when I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, I felt nursing is a great career, while I was able to work during treatment as Visiting Nurse, I never thought of leaving nursing.

"2. Are you open about your past cancer history? Or is it best to keep your history to yourself due to discrimination from management and fellow nurses. I hate that I have to put that question in here but I have read more then one post that has me concerned."

Very open about my diagnosis but only when it is appropriate.

3." Do you feel being a nurse helped you personally in anyway? On the flip side...Do you feel having a life threatening disease has helped you become a better nurse in anyway? During the last couple of years I hit rock bottom hard both physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I am finally climbing out of that hole and I believe my experience will make me a very empathetic nurse who can understand (to a degree) what my pt are going through."

I feel surviving cancer has made me a stronger person and understand what patients are going through, I obtained my MSN after my diagnosis.

4. "Part of me worries that maybe working as a Nurse might be a trigger, being around death so much? I feel it would not and would actually have a positive effect on me but I would like to know about other people's experiences. "

I do not think working in oncology would be a place for you to work initially but time heals all wounds.

WheresMyPen · Jun 10, 2016

I've never had a life threatening disease but I am only 22 and living with Parkinson's for two years now. I also have ADHD . Both diagnosed by a neurologist and psychiatrist. I was discouraged from nursing but here I am practicing and it's working out with the right treatment and therapy.

dudette10, MSN, RN · Jun 10, 2016

I think one's reaction to a cancer diagnosis is very individual, so only you can say how it would affect your career.

I worked all the way through diagnosis (stage 1 breast ca), four surgeries, and four rounds of chemo. I took the minimum amount of time off after the surgeries and did not miss a day of work during chemo. I felt good, so my way of coping was to ignore it completely. Obviously, it didn't affect my work one way or the other, and my patients never knew a thing.

You seem to have had a different "relationship" with your diagnosis and treatment. Bringing up your own cancer experience with your patients is not an absolute no-no, but you must be sure that anything you say about it serves the patient in some way.

WheresMyPen · Jun 10, 2016

To answer your questions. I was told that I legally had to disclosed my health if asked, but I was not asked by DON or supervises or my direct employer, only there physician who examined me and said I was okay to work. So I choose not to tell my employer. Ask your state or a lawyer about your rights and obligations to disclose info. I think it's perfectly fine if you feel comfortable disclosing, and no one should discriminate.

I think being a nurse has benefits for me. I feel useful and I have a purpose in helping others. I work in LTC/SNF and palliative. I think holistic may be in my future as well. I am one semester away from graduating with my BSN in case I can't handle floor nursing anymore, I will have more opportunities.

Nursing has triggered pain and some other issues but they are tolerable. I take care of elderly people with a more advanced version of Parkinson's and I do wonder if and when I will get to that point. It does trigger emotions but in this job I found a way to deal with emotions, after seeing so much illness and death. You have to be able to distance your personal beliefs and emotions while on the job. And it's hard but definitely possible! And I see the pros of nursing by far outweighing the cons for me!

I believe if you to truly want to do this and feel you physically can, I would look into it more. The decision is yours.

My my heart goes out to you for battling cancer and I wish you all the best!!!

Pursenurse77 · Jun 10, 2016

Hey guys, thank you so much for your responses! it really helps in the decision process to hear other peoples point of view who have gone through similar issues and have gone on to be nurses. Ginger's Mom: thank you for answering my questions! i am impressed you still went in on your treatment time! I was completely wiped out and did not want to be around anyone but my dog. Dudette 10 - I can see we are complete opposites haha I became obsessed with my cancer diagnoses! I had to know everything about it! it was all I could talk about! I was very boring the last 3 years :) but it was what I needed do. It was a way to have a form of control over my life....if that makes sense? for me the cancer diagnosis came with a lot of abandonment from family/friends and a LOT of discrimination/no support from my coworkers so the only thing i could really control is knowledge of my cancer and how that could affect my life...perhaps not healthy but you deal how you deal right! WheresmyPen - wow! I have mad respect for you! you have your head on straight for someone that is so young and dealing with a life changing diagnosis. I was 36 when I came down with the big C and I am just now ready to make future oriented decisions. Keep on trooping :)

VioletKaliLPN, LPN · Jun 10, 2016

Hello fellow survivor sister! I was diagnosed with breast cancer, ER+ PR+ HER2+ on june 19th of 2014. I was just 3 weeks shy of my 32nd birthday. I have had a bilateral mastectomy, reconstruction, 4 rounds of chemo (quit before I finished due to quality of life), and 8 months of herceptin.

My LTC facility has been an AMAZING support system during my diagnosis and treatment. I was informed that I was always welcome back when I felt "ready". I tried returning in 2015, but it was too much and I needed more time. I returned 1 month ago today, and so far it is wonderful.

I wear a pink ribbon on my collar. I am proud to be a survivor.

This experience also made me a much better, much more aware Nurse. I understood what it was like to need help wiping my butt for 2 days because I seriously could not reach around. I could not lift anything heavier than a dinner plate for 3 weeks, could not drive until the 6 week mark. I also understand what post operative pain felt like.

I certainly would have rather learned these concepts in another manner, but this is the hand life threw me.

No family history of cancer at all, either.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jun 12, 2016

Hello All,
I am in remission from a 2013 breast cancer diagnosis and I am finally ready to consider my next life step after being at rock bottom for 3 years. It is only just recently I have able to past the 'freeze' of not being able to plan long term in case the cancer came back. I am still aware the cancer may come back but I don't want to put my life on hold anymore. The decade long career I was in before (IT) is no longer an interest for me.....I would like a job that helps other people and is more soul satisfying.
I have been researching nursing for awhile and I believe it might be a good fit as there seems to be a lot of options, paths and flexibility once you have gained time and experience. My ideal future in the job of nursing is split. I would like to work, eventually, as a nurse traveler....taking a break between assignments sounds like a perfect way to earn money and beat burnout. I am also interested in becoming certified in the holistic/integrated side of the health world and perhaps expanding from there.
My questions are:
1. Is there anyone who became a nurse after a life threatening disease? What is your story (if you would like to share)? Why did you choose nursing? Was it a good decision? Why?
2. Are you open about your past cancer history? Or is it best to keep your history to yourself due to discrimination from management and fellow nurses. I hate that I have to put that question in here but I have read more then one post that has me concerned.
3. Do you feel being a nurse helped you personally in anyway? On the flip side...Do you feel having a life threatening disease has helped you become a better nurse in anyway? During the last couple of years I hit rock bottom hard both physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I am finally climbing out of that hole and I believe my experience will make me a very empathetic nurse who can understand (to a degree) what my pt are going through.
4. Part of me worries that maybe working as a Nurse might be a trigger, being around death so much? I feel it would not and would actually have a positive effect on me but I would like to know about other people's experiences.
thanks :)

Congratulations on your remission.

I'm a nurse with a breast cancer diagnosis as well. In 2012, after being in nursing for 35 years, I was diagnosed with breast cancer; I've been a survivor since later that year.

Breast cancer is one of those "good diseases". There isn't really a stigma, there are all sorts of resources out there and most breast cancer clinics are pleasant places with nice decor and many volunteers to help you through your disease. (There's a thread somewhere on this forum about "high value vs. low value diseases". Breast cancer is a high value disease.) Unlike mental illness, which still has a stigma or Type II diabetes (you must have done this to yourself because you're a fat pig who chows down on candy and Doritos instead of nice, clean vegetables and exercise) or back/joint issues (where the office is rundown, dirty and full of malingerers with the assumption that you must be a malingerer too, or you wouldn't be there), breast cancer elicits all sorts of sympathy from your colleagues. I received nothing but support following my breast cancer diagnosis, through my treatment and upon my return to work. If you feel like sharing, share with confidence.

I would caution you against applying your own experience to people that you meet who have had a similar disease. Breast cancer was not the worst thing that has ever happened to me -- read my articles on domestic violence. There were even some "silver linings" to the whole experience. I found out how much my husband loves me and how far he was willing to go to support me through it. I met some truly wonderful people, deepened relationships with others and was the recipient of more love and kindness than I could possibly have imagined. And because I couldn't travel on my own and my radiation therapy treatments were daily, I didn't have to deal with my mother every time she got kicked out of another nursing home back in my home state, a fact for which my sister is STILL angry with me. I have a cousin who, 20 years later, is still angry at the entire world (and the entire health care system) because she got breast cancer. For her, there were no silver linings and everyone she met was out to victimize her, all of the health care practitioners she met were incompetent and her surgery was "unnecessary." I think she's wrong, and possibly crazy (which is different from having active mental health issues on which you are working) and cannot empathize with her at all.

Perhaps oncology nursing isn't the best place for you, but CCU might not be a bad fit. I don't know. I'll share that I had cervical cancer back in the 80s. Mine was caught early and easily treated. I was 25 the first time, 28 the second. I was back to work within days. I was working on a hematology/bone marrow transplant unit one Christmas, and one of the oncology floors closed for low census. A few patients were transferred to us. One of them was a 27 year old woman dying from metastatic cervical cancer. There, but for the grace of God . . . . I had a very, very difficult time with that situation. Because I wasn't comfortable sharing my cancer history, I had no recourse but to care for this woman, no matter how emotionally difficult it was for me. I had a very, very tough time. I was a wreck every time I had to visit the gynecologist for YEARS. But I got through it. It's all in what you think you can handle.

Nursing has been a flexible, interesting and rewarding career and I wouldn't have missed it for anything. I hope you feel the same when you're looking back at your career.

dudette10, MSN, RN · Jun 13, 2016

Dudette 10 - I can see we are complete opposites haha I became obsessed with my cancer diagnoses! I had to know everything about it! it was all I could talk about! I was very boring the last 3 years :) but it was what I needed do. It was a way to have a form of control over my life....if that makes sense? for me the cancer diagnosis came with a lot of abandonment from family/friends and a LOT of discrimination/no support from my coworkers so the only thing i could really control is knowledge of my cancer and how that could affect my life...perhaps not healthy but you deal how you deal right! :)

Everyone must deal with their diagnosis in the way that fits best--one is not better than another as long as it works. :) I just wanted to point out that nurses need to be cognizant of how they relate to patients vis a vis self-disclosure.

good luck to you on your journey!

quiltynurse56, LPN, LVN · Jun 13, 2016

I was diagnosed and treated for ovarian cancer in 2003. I was not a nurse at that time, but had always had the dream to be one. It wasn't until much later that I pursued that dream and became one. I don't know if it made me a better nurse, but it does help in relating to those with cancer when I tell them that I have been where they are now as I can relate to some of those initial feelings regarding the diagnosis. They also see that it is not always a losing battle and one can go on and live a long and productive life, though they are also realistic about that too. I have been open about my cancer, especially when it is appropriate to do so. I do have a teal ribbon tattoo on my wrist so when I am asked about it, I tell them what it means to me.

To me, death is a fact of life. I work LTC so there are many deaths in that area. If a case you have hits close to home, find someone to take that patient and/or step back and evaluate how to proceed.

AprilFerrara · Jul 12, 2017

I don't think their should be any problem to this. Being an cancer history should not make any difference to your professional life. In fact I believe it will make you more stronger in life to tackle the situation and being affirmative at the same time. One of my friends was diagnosed of having cancer and while taking treatment, she decided to become a doctor to serve he patients of cancer. She knew and felt the pain and emotions of cancer patients and this took a decision to serve the community.