Shantal Martin Ginsberg, RN,BSN

I was diagnosed with stage 3 rectal cancer five days before Christmas of 2023. I met Shantal in January 2024, when I became a patient and started my chemotherapy. Since then, she has been an absolute angel. She is unbelievably kind, caring, and compassionate. With cancer comes a lot of unknowns and extreme anxiety, at least for me. My daughter wasn’t even a year old when I was officially diagnosed, and the fear of not seeing her grow up stayed with me throughout my entire treatment. Shantal always found a way to reassure me that they would do everything they could to save me.

In between visits, if I have any questions or concerns, she responds almost immediately, which is hard to do. She has calmed me down over the phone more times than I am willing to admit. I truly don’t know where I would be in this cancer journey without her. NYU is extremely lucky to have such an amazing nurse on their team.

Recently during my six month CAT scan a large cyst was found that was questionable if it was a mass. I had further testing done and would have had to wait five days for a doctor's response about the results. That same day, she took it upon herself to call me even though her shift was over, and after talking to the doctor, she told me it was just a very large cyst. Again, she did not have to do that, but because she understands how scary the wait is, she went above and beyond to share the news with me. No one is more deserving of an award than she is. I only wish there was an even greater way for me to pay her back for all the good she has done for me and my family. Thank you!