December 2016
Heather
Davis
,
BSN, RN
OICC
Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Eastern Regional Medical Center
Philadelphia
,
PA
United States
A patient arrived in OICC for abdominal pain and after a CT scan discovered she had extensive liver mets. The patient was very upset but more so because she had a 6-year-old granddaughter who wants to be a cancer doctor and she may not live long enough to see her achieve her goal. Heather sat and listened compassionately to this patient and then proceeded to make a doctor's kit for her granddaughter. Heather put together numerous supplies including an isolation gown and mask, tongue depressors, and a disposable stethoscope, and gave it to the patient. The patient cried and thanked her, saying she could be her granddaughter's first patient. Although this was a simple gesture, it was a very thoughtful one. The patient, on a day she received bad news, left OICC with a smile on her face.