When nurse Sandy Cohen, RN, joined Dana-Farber Cancer Institute eight years ago, she worried she might lose the close, personal relationships she had cherished as a bedside hospital nurse.
That concern faded when she met Sister Nancy Sheridan, a patient who would come to embody the kind of connection Cohen had hoped to find. As Sheridan continues treatment for stage 4 ovarian cancer, she is marking National Nurses Week by honoring Cohen's clinical expertise, compassion and enduring friendship.
Observed annually from May 6-12, National Nurses Week highlights the essential role nurses play in patient safety, recovery and overall quality of life.
"Sandy Cohen is an angel of joy," said 81-year-old Sheridan, a spiritual director, retreat leader and member of the Sisters of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. "Her welcoming, joyful embrace of each person works miracles each day."
While grateful for her full care team, Sheridan forged especially strong bonds with Cohen and fellow nurse Cheri Manzi, RN. When both nurses transferred from Dana-Farber's Longwood Medical Area campus to its Chestnut Hill location, Sheridan chose to continue her care there as well.
A self-described "type A kind of person," Sheridan said her 2018 cancer diagnosis prompted a profound shift in perspective.
"I decided I would learn to live with cancer and let cancer teach me what it needed to teach me," Sheridan said. Those lessons have included slowing down, appreciating nature on frequent walks, resting without guilt, writing poetry and cherishing her extended family.
During some of her most difficult moments, Sheridan has found steady support in Cohen and Manzi.
"When I've been very frightened about difficult treatment decisions, Sandy and Cheri have been there for me. When I hesitated to have surgery last fall, they told me, 'We're family and we will be here to support you,'" Sheridan recalled. "That meant the world to me. It still does."
Cohen said she was touched when Sheridan and other patients began specifically requesting her care. Despite their different backgrounds-Sheridan is an Irish Catholic nun, while Cohen is Jewish-the two have found common ground in conversations about faith, family, life's challenges and celebrations including Cohen's recent marriage.
"Cheri and I are Nancy's biggest champions, cheerleaders and advocates," Cohen said. "I feel lucky that we've become so close."
Sheridan's own gratitude for her "found family" is similarly heartfelt. This summer, she plans to host a garden party at her home to thank Cohen, Manzi, her oncologist Dr. Susana Campos and other Dana-Farber caregivers with a collection of her poetry inspired by spirituality and nature.
For Cohen, that appreciation is deeply meaningful.
"There are hard days when I wonder if I've made a difference," Cohen said. "I get in my car and wonder all the way home, 'Was I at my best for my patients today? Did I help someone feel better?' It means so much that Nancy feels this way. I hope all our patients do."
