"I go to Amherst every other Friday for my chemo. I am there for 3 hours and home with a pump for 46 hours after that. Needless to say, it's a long day, long weekend, and not something you always look forward to. As a cancer patient, you have to celebrate the small victories. You never know how many you have left. That being said, birthdays are particularly memorable. Last year, I had chemo on my 30th birthday. Birthdays are always, or always should be, a big deal. And the dirty thirty is an even bigger deal. My friends all had bar crawls, or crazy party weekends for theirs...but not me. I would be at home with my husband, my puppy, and my chemo pump having a cocktail of 5-FU instead of an amaretto sour. But Renee made me forget all that. She went through the trouble of starting her shift at 9 instead of her normal 8.

Waking up and heading to Wegmans to get me a small flower arrangement, and a birthday cake with my name on it. (I never had one of those before!) She got a card that fit me perfectly (I am known as the Queen of Amherst), and had all the Amherst staff sign it. it was absolutely incredible. I got to share my birthday with every patient there, I mean really, who doesn't love a piece of cake? No matter how nauseous you are, or how many immodium you have taken that week, there is always cake! She made me forget all the unpleasantness that day.... she made me forget that I was sick, she made me forget that I was getting chemo, she made me forget that I wasn't going to have an all out bash like my friends. She made me feel like a princess that day. She made me feel like more than just the number on my green card. I know I'm making this sound more about me, than about her.... but it really is about Renee. She's like this for all her patients. I'm just one of the lucky ones. I'm lucky to get sick... I'm lucky to be a Roswell Patient, I'm lucky to be eligible for chemo at Amherst. I'm lucky for these reasons because they led me to Renee. She is the kindest, most gentle, most caring person I have ever met.

So now every Friday when I have to wake up at 6 am, two hours earlier than when I wake up for work, to get to Amherst on time, I wake up with a smile on my face. My feet hit the floor with the speed of Usain Bolt. I'm ready for chemo. I'm ready for the weekend. I'm ready to see my best friend.. because for the 3 hours I am there, she makes me forget... and I love her for that."