Cancer is not always something that brings inspiration into one’s life. One woman managed to survive cancer twice in her young life. By the age of 24, she was working as a nurse in the very same hospital where she was treated. She managed to conquer a disease that has claimed so many. Furthermore, it inspired a compassionate career in caring for others who are dealing with the same thing.
From patient to nurse
Montana Brown is a 24-year-old cancer survivor, twice over. Throughout her young life, she struggled with cancer on two occasions. Both times she survived the sickness and came out stronger for it. Now, she has started a career as a nurse. And, took a job in the same hospital where she was treated. She has been on the job at Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta for two weeks. Now, Montana has told her story of survival.
At only two years old, Montana was diagnosed with cancer known as rhabdomyosarcoma. This is not a commonly diagnosed cancer that affects connective tissue. Her family decided chemotherapy was her best route to survival. Subsequently, the cancer went into remission. However, this was not the end of the road for cancer. Thirteen years later, it came back. Montana was now 15 years old. This time around, she was facing a year of chemotherapy treatments.
This meant that she would need to sacrifice a lot in her life so that she could keep it. The doctors advised her that she would need to give up cheerleading, which she did on a competitive level. Montana told Today that she found it very hard this time round. Her parents had relocated and she was attending a new high school.
“I wanted to help people”
Regardless of her struggles, Montana could not help but notice how compassionate the nurses at her treatment center were. As a result, the Aflac Cancer Center nurses inspired her to become a nurse herself. She told TODAY how she appreciates working at the same place she was cared for. In short, caring for the children in the same way she was treated is her way of giving back. “It’s so cool to just be at the place where I was treated. And to have an influence over the kids and to be an inspiration to them,” said Montana
“Around 10th or 11th grade, I started thinking about what to major in,” Montana told TODAY. “I knew I wanted to help people and I knew that I wanted to use my story to help others and give them hope and inspiration. The more that I thought about it, I knew being a pediatric oncology nurse would be the greatest field for me.”
The Aflac cancer center nurses
“After meeting Montana, knowing her story and hearing her response to her own journey, we knew that she would be the next best addition to our team. And would enhance the care experience that we can offer our patients,” said Caroline Rooke. She is the manager of nurses for hematology and oncology at the Aflac cancer center.
Montana went on to describe the compassion of the nurses to ABC news. Firstly, she spoke about how loving they were. Secondly, how it inspired her to become one herself. “The nurses here, as great as they were when I was two — from what my mom says — they were extremely loving and caring and compassionate. And, just the love they showed me and my family in our time of need just really helped me. So, it helped me want to become as kind and as caring and as compassionate as they were for me,” said Montana.
Sources
- “Woman who survived cancer as a kid becomes a nurse where she was treated.” Today. Aliyah Frumin. October 6, 2017.
- “This 24-Year-Old Who Survived Cancer Twice Is Now A Nurse At The Hospital Where She Was Treated.” Buzzfeed. Stephanie McNeal. October 2, 2017
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