Mother/daughter nurse practitioners guide children through cancer treatment, survivorship
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For Gabriella Tucci, NP, summer camp as a teenager was an unforgettable experience, although not in the ways one might expect.
For one thing, her mother was also there.
“In my early teenage years, I used to go to Happiness Is Camping — a sleepaway camp for children and teenagers with cancer and their siblings in Hardwick, New Jersey — with my mother,” Tucci, a pediatric surgery nurse practitioner at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, said in an interview with Healio. “As the camp nurse, my mom was allowed to bring her children. I was amazed at how resilient and brave these children were at camp. I witnessed children coming to the infirmary to get chemotherapy and have blood drawn from their central lines. Within 5 minutes, these same children would head to the pool for swim time or do one of the many adventurous camp activities. Happiness Is Camping will always hold a very special place in my heart.”
The mission of supporting and encouraging children with cancer continues not only in Tucci’s heart, but in her daily life. Along with her mother, Roseann Tucci, NP, a nurse practitioner at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Adult Long-Term Follow-Up Program, Gabriella has found her calling in the field of pediatric oncology.
A source of hope
Whereas Roseann works with children who have completed active treatment, Gabriella works in what her mother calls “the trenches.” When pediatric survivors of cancer move from active treatment to survivorship, they also move to a different part of the Tucci family tree.
“Throughout my career, patients of mine have passed away and some have transitioned to the survivorship clinic,” Gabriella said. “My mother’s experiences with survivors give me hope and allow me to continually remain positive and strong for my patients.”
Roseann Tucci said she previously worked with children undergoing active treatment for cancer, just as her daughter does. In addition to being a source of hope for patients’ long-term survival, Roseann’s job provides her with the unique experience of reconnecting with adults she treated as kids.
“I just saw a patient recently who I took care of when he was 14 [years old], and now he’s in his 40s,” she said. “He comes for care annually to be monitored for late effects of treatment. I’m very fortunate that I can continue to care for these patients who I took care of years ago while they were undergoing active cancer treatments.”
Roseann said her job in caring for survivors involves a good deal of health education and counseling. She discusses the late effects of different cancer treatments and might discuss fertility concerns or other issues relevant to young adults who have survived cancer.
A ‘lifelong mentor’
Both Roseann and Gabriella began as nurses and then became certified as nurse practitioners, a title that enables them to play a more active role in patient care. Yet their respective roles present very different challenges.
“This past January, I started as a pediatric surgery nurse practitioner on my same unit,” Gabriella said. “The surgery team usually meets every new patient — whether it be in initial stages of workup, in the middle of their treatments for various tumor resections and, of course, when we are consulted to remove central lines they no longer need.”
By the time patients reach Roseann, they have different needs: to learn about healthy behaviors, as well as how to advocate for their health care needs as young adults.
When Gabriella becomes saddened by the illness she sees in the inpatient setting, her mother can offer words of encouragement.
“The beautiful thing about us having the same profession in the same hospital as that she understands my role,” Gabriella said. “Whenever I need professional advice, especially after a challenging day at work, she patiently listens and offers guidance.”
“Nursing is a difficult profession, and it is so important to have someone who understands and can guide you through the good times and the bad,” Gabriella added. “That’s my mother — my lifelong mentor.”
Additionally, Gabriella can pass along Roseann’s words of inspiration to her patients. The words often mean a lot, because in this unusual generational reversal, it is the older person who represents the future.
“A lot of patients and their families might not be ready to hear about survivorship clinic at first because they are so overwhelmed by the diagnosis of cancer,” Roseann said, “but I think it’s great that Gabriella can offer hope to her patients. She can tell them, ‘One day, you might be seeing my mother!’”
For more information:
Gabriella Tucci, NP, and Roseann Tucci, NP, can be reached at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave., New York, NY 10065-6007.
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