Our Stories: Childhood Cancer from the Eyes of a Medical Professional
Within the world of radiation oncology, the number of children presenting for treatment tends to ebb and flow. At times we may go several weeks without any children requiring treatment and other times we may have several children needing extensive radiotherapy plans. Unfortunately, we’re at a point where we have several children receiving treatment. One child in particular whom we’ll call “Kyle” puts a smile on everyone’s face. When Kyle first began treatment – as would be expected – he was terrified. Luckily one of our wonderful radiation oncology nurses was able to calm his fears and get him through his initial simulation. With the help of his wheel chair decorations and his Mario and Luigi t toys, he has gotten braver by the day. When Kyle realized it was a painless procedure, he began asking to help with his treatment- even helping the technicians with putting on his own mask!
I am always amazed by the resilience in children. They are strong, brave, and untarnished by the ways of the world. A few days ago I watched a video that even now makes my eyes well with tears simply recalling the story long enough to write these few sentences. A seven-year-old boy was fighting cancer and losing. His heroes were Wrestle-mania wrestlers. They asked him to visit them and showed him the ins and outs of the sport. His attitude and personality touched every person that came in contact with it. Moments like those are the reason we need to fight. I cannot imagine the pain and fear that comes over a family when they learn a loved one or a child has been diagnosed with cancer. As a clinical research coordinator, my hope is one day this prognosis evolves from a life and death fight to an inconvenient illness corrected by an affordable treatment!