“Fasten your seat belt. You are in for a ride.”
Quick multiple choice question: where would you be most likely to hear the above quote?
a. Before your car on Wild Thing, the tallest (207 feet) and fastest (74 mph) roller coaster at Valleyfair, starts along the steel track toward the first hill.
b. Over an airplane’s intercom as the captain warns passengers of turbulence.
c. In the oncologist’s office as an infusion nurse prepares to start your chemotherapy regimen.
While you could argue that this quote would fit in all three of the above situations, it turns out that letter c is actually what Mira* would like to tell her patients before she starts their first chemotherapy infusion.
An oncology infusion nurse, Mira’s role is to administer various intravenous (IV) therapies and chemotherapy regimens, perform IV-related procedures, educate patients about chemotherapy, its side effects and how to manage them, and to work with doctors, pharmacists and other nurses to ensure quality patient care. Infusion nurses have undergone specialized training, beyond the requirements for a Registered Nurse, to become an OCN (Oncology Certified Nurse). Mira*, Tansy* and Anja*, infusion nurses in our local Minnesota and Western Wisconsin area, offered insight and perspective about their role in cancer care.
All three nurses have personal experience with cancer. Both Mira and Tansy are cancer survivors, having experienced both sides of chemotherapy infusion—being the patient and being the one to administer chemotherapy—and Anja watched her mom go through treatment for and pass away from the disease when she was a teenager. “This affected my entire family, and from that point on I knew I wanted to be an oncology nurse,” shares Anja.
Being an infusion nurse can be extremely difficult and intensely rewarding at the same time. Mira enjoys “the connections I make with patients that come in week after week for treatment.” Having been a nurse for several decades, Anja is buoyed by “the great advances in cancer care that allow my Stage IV patients to live many years with cancer as a chronic illness—even 14 years from diagnosis!” Tansy finds it satisfying “when patients come back after their treatment is done or a family member comes back after a patient passes to share how much I meant to them during their treatment.”
Those same relationships with patients, forged regularly over hours spent in chemotherapy, can be the most painful part of being an oncology infusion nurse. Losing a patient is extremely difficult. “Sometimes I cry with my patients. Sometimes I hold them while they cry. I try to follow my patients lead,” divulges Mira. “Watching the disease progress, trying out new regimens to stop its progression and attempting to manage difficult side affects for the patient is all so hard,” explains Tansy.
Self-care is important for infusion nurses, who share the trauma of cancer daily with their patients. Tansy, Anja, and Mira all talk with their co-workers to relieve stress. “I have a piano that receives a lot of pounding and tears,” shares Mira. “When my job is tough or I am really down, I sit back and am thankful that I am not going through what my cancer patients are right now,” conveys Anja.
Infusion nurses know that cancer can be overwhelming in so many ways. To help with this, Tansy recommends “asking lots of questions, even if you think the doctor is too busy.” Mira suggests “surrounding yourself with those you love for support: family, friends, and even your pets.”
Firefly Sisterhood is not affiliated with any local or national health system, and we strive to ensure that our one-to-one matching program is available to any woman facing a breast cancer diagnosis in the 21-county metro area. We are thankful for all infusion nurses and other professionals who share the Firefly Sisterhood program.
A huge thank you to Anja, Mira and Tansy for shedding a tiny light on the role of the infusion nurse in a woman’s breast cancer experience.
* All names have been changed to protect privacy.
Written by Amy Tix, Firefly Staffer and breast cancer survivor, who fondly remembers her infusion nurses.
This Is Living With Cancer