Cancer is never a word anyone wants to hear or a diagnosis anyone wants to have. But some of us get challenged with it. When I received my diagnosis last year, chemotherapy was not part of my treatment plan. But once we knew the cancer was in my lymph node, the discussion on the plan changed. I chose to be aggressive with my treatment plan from day one and I advocated for chemotherapy to be added. However, there is a big difference between wanting the therapy and it being your reality.

Being nervous on my first treatment day was an understatement. Everyone at the CTC was beyond kind and understanding. But God knew the nurse that I needed that day. It was Erin. She came into my room, pulled up a stool, and sat down beside me eye–to–eye. There was a novel of information to guide me through. She went page by page, was never bothered by my numerous questions, even when I asked the same one two or three times, and allowed me to comprehend all the information at my pace. Erin was constantly looking at my face to try to read my reaction and checking to make sure I was okay. For those who have been blessed to never have to experience this may not grasp the magnitude of information and instruction being given out on this first day but it is massive. Erin is the champ!! I could not have asked for anyone to display more patience, provide more detail, or exhibit more compassion when I became overwhelmed with what I was undertaking that day. But her job was even bigger than me, she also cared for my husband who accompanied me and ensured he stayed on the same page and had no unanswered questions.

It was more than her administering medication to me and the frequent checks on me; that was her job. What touched my heart the most was the smile on her face with each encounter, the perception that I was who she was there for that day and each day that she was my nurse, her desire to know me as more than “the new breast cancer patient”, and the obvious love for her calling as a nurse. Many negatives can be associated with cancer but I was blessed with the positive of Erin Parker. She truly exemplifies the extraordinary compassionate care that the DAISY Award stands for and wants to recognize and honor.