[ShamsTabrizi]

They last few years have been really difficult for me because I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of the tibia. I was 20 years young and into my sophomore year at college when I realized I was sick. I'm clear of any cancer now, however I'm still struggling to adjust to my allograft and the pain caused from the resection.
Through all this I really developed an appreciation for the nurses at Mass General and Exeter Hospital and the work they do. I would really like to work as an oncology nurse. I had really good grades in high school and I'm wondering what kind of school I should go to? Should I look into a Master's in nursing?
My leg hasnt fully healed yet so I'm kind of waiting on the word GO! I don't have a naive outlook, I'm not going into nursing for the money. To work at Mass General do you need to be at the top of the class and go to some big name, expensive school? What kind of job experience should I be getting into?
Before all this happened to me I had a very selfish attitude, less selfish that the majority of my peers, but defintely not mature. I like to think that what has happened to me won't be the last chapter in my life. If you were 21 and wanted to do something real for people and give to others. What would you do?

[SteveD]

That's really cool that you wanna be a nurse. You definitely have the right attitude, and your story is pretty inspirational. My dad had leukemia as a child, and now he's a preacher. I wouldn't mind nursing in a 3rd world country someday. I feel like I've been incredibly blessed, and also feel somewhat obligated to give back.

I've never heard of Mass General, so I can't help ya there! But ADN is 2 years, BSN is 4 years, and I believe MS is 6 years? How many years are you willing to invest in education?

Keep us posted with what's going on!

[smbrn]

I can understand your wanting to work at the hospital where you were so well cared for. I doubt you have to be top of your class to land a job there. I work in adult medical oncology and love it. Probably the best thing to do these days is to pursue a BSN initially although I am not aware of any particular oncology specific programs. Best of luck to you. I hope it all works out. If you decide nursing is not quite what you want, there is an area of clinical practice that seems underserved and that is psychological practitioners who deal exclusively with or have a specialty in helping people deal with cancer. As you no doubt know, without wanting to minimize the suffering of people with other diseases, there is something so specific to the care of oncology patients that experts in the issues that surround the diagnosis, treatment, recovery, etc are badly needed. Good luck.