WORCESTER, Mass. - Two oncology nurses at UMass Memorial Health are sharing their story of being on the other side of treatment. Both facing their own battle with cancer.
Jennifer Johnson and Elizabeth Duncan know first-hand how hard the battle against cancer can be. It wasn't long ago when their roles were reversed, and they were the ones hearing those three words, 'You have cancer.'
"I was hiking in the Appalachian Mountains," Johnson said about finding her tumor. "At the tail end of the hike, my backpack was hurting my chest."
"I was diagnosed in March of 2021 by routine breast screening by mammogram," said Duncan.
What You Need To Know
- June is Cancer Survivor Month.
- Oncology nurses Jennifer Johnson and Elizabeth Duncan know first-hand how hard the battle against cancer can be. They were both diagnosed just a few years ago.
- Both women describing the diagnosis as a shock, but a humbling experience when they were in the patient chair, getting treatment from their colleagues.
- Whether you have cancer or not, their message is simple. It's to get checked, regardless of how young or healthy you are.
Both of them had breast cancer. Johnson was out of work for 13 months undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, and a mastectomy. Duncan is still getting treatment to this day.
Both women describing the diagnosis as a shock, but a humbling experience when they were in the patient chair, getting treatment from their colleagues.
"I wish I stopped and took a minute to really think about what was ahead and really just look at different ways of handling it," said Johnson.
"Even as oncology nurses, we're not spared disease," Duncan said. "We're not spared illness even though we take care of the sickest of the sick."
Both women are back to work, but say it's a bit different now. Their fight with cancer gives them a different, deeper understanding of what their patients are living through.
"It gave me definitely a better perspective of what people deal with the side effects of chemotherapy, financial struggles, the fear of having cancer and possibly once it goes away, it comes back," said Johnson.
"There's just a deeper connection that they feel," Duncan said. "It brings them comfort as well."
Self-discovery and a routine appointment saved the two nurses' lives. Neither one of them had family history with the disease.
Whether you have cancer or not, their message is simple. It's to get checked, regardless of how young or healthy you are.
"The importance of breast cancer screening is vital to early diagnosis, treatment, and survival," Duncan said.