If there is one thing my survivor journey has taught me it’s that it takes a lot “MORE” than a village. It is stunningly frightening how many people it takes to process just one patient. I was so grateful for the GREAT service and care I received at Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), I can’t say enough positive things about them.
And it was the same EVERY time I had to be there.
So I felt it necessary to dedicate a full POST to all the (CINJ) individuals that I have met through this bizarre Journey. I have to say almost every single person I met, seemed really dedicated to their job of being of service to each and every patient.
It takes a special type of individual to work in that environment to begin with. With all the suffering and illness around them, they still manage a smile and gentle word for a nervous patient. I take my hat off to each and every one of them.
For every visit I must have interacted with or been processed by a minimum of at the least 10 to 15 people. Multiply that by a 100 plus patients a day, and you might begin to understand just how much this disease is costing us. And not just in lives, but money, resources, brain power, you name it. The machines, equipment, computers, drugs, my God how much is going to be enough to eradicate this thing.
For the most part every one of these professionals seemed to make an effort to let you know they want to help. Surely just going into that line of work in the first place must mean something.
Of the few that I actually asked if they enjoyed their jobs almost all said “absolutely”. From the check in desks, to the Technicians, the Assistants, the Doctors, the Anesthesiologist, and even the Food vendors, everyone seemed totally sincere about their work.
Some of them seem as if they were selected for the job primarily based on their personalities. Now I’m sure there were plenty of people that weren’t happy, happy Care Bear characters, but I just didn’t seem to run into many.
This Post represents just a small fraction of the people that contributed to my care. Every single one of them deserves the highest praise as far as I’m concerned.
So I would like to introduce you to just a few of the people who have helped me on my Journey.
This is the front of the Institute, my temporary home away from home for Chemo treatments.
Denise and I got pretty comfortable with our little routine very quickly. For some reason, my daughter started to pack for the day as though we were going away to camp for a week. I’m lucky she didn’t pack pillows and sleeping bags.
Before I was personally introduced to TAZ, every time I heard about a fund raiser or was asked for a contribution, I always use to wonder how much money was it going to take to wipe this thing out. But it was usually a passing thought. I would make my contribution and keep moving.
As a matter of fact, here’s a few pictures of me, my daughter, my nephew, and my Angel Carol at a run/walk to raise money, years before I had a clue about TAZ. You see the numbers of people, and you think surely this is going to make a difference, but I think it’s just a drop in the bucket. Again, it takes so, so much more than a village.
Even though they seem to have made GREAT strides in cures, prevention and various treatments, it seems as though more and more people are getting inducted into this “exclusive” club, at such a rapid rate, and it’s all ages, all ethnic groups, from all types of environments, and all types of life styles.
It reminds me of 6 Degrees of Separation, it seems as though every 2nd or 3rd person I know, either has encountered TAZ or knows someone who has. It is so frightening. Even the people that appear to be doing all the right things as far as clean living goes, don’t seem to be able to escape the grip of TAZ.
I mean when you see the numbers of children dealing with this demon, you can’t even wrap your head around the statistics. How did so many of them become afflicted? What did they do to get into this exclusive “demonic” club?
When you attend a fund raiser or join a race and see so many survivor’s with pink ribbons and t-shirts, you wonder OMG, what health rules did “ALL” these people break? You quickly realize, many of them didn’t break any of the rules at all. As a matter of fact, many of them did all the right things. They were non-smokers, vegetarians, the organic whole foods eaters, they drive non-polluting cars, etc., etc. And yet TAZ still found them.
The sooner we realize that we “ALL” need to be in this war and not just a select group, then maybe we can put all of our resources together and get this thing licked.
I have this theory that maybe the whole planet has cancer and Mother Nature is trying to get our attention one by one to get us to change the way we live. That includes; the smoking, the drinking, pesticides, food processing methods, pollution of the oceans and the seafood, pollution of the air we breath. You name it, we can go on and on.
Sorry about my small podium speech, but I really just want to get back to acknowledging all the people in this line of work that are trying to help and heal those of us afflicted by this monster.
Now that I’m a member of the club, I get it about “more than a village.” There are all types of people that have worked on cures and prevention their whole life and still can’t crack the code. We seriously need a much bigger army. WOW!
One of my doctors had told me early on, about her story when she began her interning. She felt ill the first time she was conducting her first exams and questioned whether she had chosen the right profession. But after seeing the pain and suffering, she pulled herself together, and knew that this career was going to be her PURPOSE & PASSION in life.
THANK GOD for her and people like her.
Everyone always says the patients are brave, but I have to add “Hooray” for the BRAVERY of the entire medical profession and all the “Soldiers of Healing”
So here are just a few of the extraordinary teams that helped to make sure I got the best care possible.
Even very early in the morning everyone was cheerful enough to have a smile while getting patients started on their routine. This was part of the team that would exam me before the actual treatment.
I can’t say enough about Tareai, I liked her from the very beginning. She could not answer enough questions for me. She always took her time, never ever got impatient. Always returned my calls, she just supported me every step of the way.
This is Jennifer, at the check in desk on the clinic side. Jennifer always has a pleasant smile, just the type of person you want to deal with first thing in the morning, especially when getting ready for such a terrifying event.
This is part of my first treatment team, you met them in an earlier Post.
This is Jules, I explained in an earlier Post that Jules was my first technician to administer my toxic cocktail. She explained everything that was going to happen in a soft voice that immediately put me at ease.
These are my 2nd Treatment team Angels
These are my 3rd treatment Angels.
Again they were pleasant, professional and sincere about their work.
And last but not least is Dr. Rodriquez, my Oncologist. I liked her immediately. She gave you straight talk but with a gentle tone. The best part was Denise liked her also, so they communicated very well. (Thank God!)
Dr Rodriquez and her Assistant, Tareai explained things in as much detail as any person can possibly absorb at a time like that. But they took their time to answer all of our questions and I NEVER once felt rushed.
GOD bless these people. I’m one of those people that literally faints if I just “see” someone get a needle and forget about all the other things like blood, or cuts, or organs, or anything at all that requires a Hospital coat. OMG, not 10 million dollars could persuade me to go into that line of work.
So I take my hat off to these Soldiers of Healing.
Make sure you take a minute to THANK a doctor, nurse, technician, assistant, orderly, “WHATEVER”. I sincerely applaud them.
AGAIN THANK YOU CINJ!
PS – I have to add a PS to this story. I recently went to the clinic for a regular follow-up on my blood work, and I encountered a pleasant surprise directly related to this particular Post. It was just before Easter.
There at the first check in desk on the clinic side was a young man as the greeter dressed as Mr. Easter Rabbit.
I think it just confirms a lot of what I‘ve been saying in this Blog. They try to make it as pleasant and relaxing as possible.
I’m sure some people may not appreciate it, thinking it’s sort of frivolous, but I didn’t. I did notice almost everyone had a smile on their face when they saw him. It definitely worked for me.
Anything to bring the blood pressure and anxiety down, works for me.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Mr. Vargas!
“If you want happiness for an hour – take a nap, if you want happiness for a day – go fishing. If you want happiness for a month – get married. If you want happiness for a year – inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime – help someone else. “
Chinese proverb