Erica

"Being a radiation therapist is pretty stressful. Some people come in angry when they are first diagnosed—that’s usually the first emotion, like "Why is this happening to me?" I feel like to be a radiation therapist the first step isn’t trying to find a coping mechanism for yourself, it's understanding what your patients are going through"

"As a radiation therapist you really need empathy. One of my first steps when meeting a patient is putting myself in their shoes. It really puts an outlook on everything they’re going through. Having empathy is one of the most important personality traits to have."

"My sister was diagnosed. I was 13 years old, she was 16, and I had no idea what she was going through. She went from a normal teenager to weighing 70 pounds, losing all her hair. It was traumatizing for her. She would get her hair cut at our house because she didn’t want to do it at the hairdresser. I can remember one time when she looked at me and asked if she looked okay and I was just thinking she looked bald. It didn’t really occur to me until I was older what cancer was and what she went through."

“We see these patients 5 days a week, sometimes twice a day depending on what kind of cancer they have. They all affect our lives. It’s not like we see these patients and forget about them – we really connect with them.”

“You gotta realize that your day is never as bad as their day. I try and remember that whenever I look at anyone who’s dealt with cancer. You really learn to celebrate your life. After you’ve been to your lowest point, you realize you just need to keep going.”

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