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CINDY DEMINSKY: ATLANTA CANCER CARE
From her first contact with the oncology unit at St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta, Cindy Deminsky, RN, OCN, saw something "unique and different going on between patients and nurses" and knew that caring for cancer patients was her niche.
An oncology nurse since 1995, Deminsky delivers chemotherapy treatments and cancer education and handles phone triage for patients between their visits to Atlanta Cancer Care.
"People ask me how I could work in oncology . . . 'Isn't it depressing and hard when people don't get well?' It's draining, but also the most rewarding place to be in nursing," she said.
Deminsky, 46, gets excited when new research and treatments make it possible to heal patients who wouldn't have had a chance before.
"When someone really listens, people open up and ask what they really want to know," Deminsky said .
Patient Sara Zirkel called Deminsky a "one-of-a-kind cancer care nurse. For anyone who has ever had to deal with a life-threatening and life-altering disease, the days you go for treatment are some of the most emotional and difficult of your life."
Celebrating Nurses Multimedia |
Having a nurse who really empathizes and asks about your life before and after cancer makes a difference during a treatment session, she added.
Administering chemotherapy is difficult because "people are sad, worried, scared, depressed and often sick, sick, sick," Zirkel said. "Not getting burned-out, not leaving to do something more cheerful, always being available with a smile -- that's a hard job. And Cindy does it with sheer grace."
Patients give just as much back to Deminsky. "They've taught me how fragile life really is and how to live each day with purpose and meaning."
-- Laura Raines
Nominated By: Sara Zikel
Cindy Deminsky was my chemotherapy nurse for 12 treatments at Atlanta Cancer Care.
Cindy is a wonderful, kind, caring, and upbeat person which translates into a "one of a kind" cancer care nurse. For anyone who has ever had to deal with a life threatening and life altering disease, the days you go for treatment are some of the most emotional and difficult of your life.
Having someone there to take the time to really look at you, empathize with you, to talk about what your life is like outside of having cancer, both before and after, is what makes the difference in someone's treatment.
Cindy helped me through every treatment. Even those treatments that she didn't administer, she managed to come by, sit, talk, and brighten my day.
Being a chemo nurse has got to be one of the hardest jobs in the land. And Cindy does it with sheer grace. Cindy Deminsky deserves the Nurse of the Year Award. She is everything a nurse should be and more.
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