{"id":26600,"date":"2020-12-07T18:34:11","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T18:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cmshub.wpengine.com\/?p=328764"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:15:52","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:15:52","slug":"nursing-professor-who-used-her-breast-cancer-diagnosis-as-a-teaching-tool-passes-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/nursing-professor-who-used-her-breast-cancer-diagnosis-as-a-teaching-tool-passes-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Nursing Professor Who Used Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis as a Teaching Tool Passes Away"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In 2015, Joyce Degennaro was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer<\/a>. The diagnosis was understandably distressing for the nursing professor, but she refused to allow the disease to keep her from being an awesome nurse and teacher.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI had a CT scan, and the doctor came back and said, \u2018You do have cancer. It looks like cancer has spread to your lymph system,\u201d Joyce recalled.<\/span><\/p>\n

She continued teaching at the University of Central Florida College of Nursing<\/a> while she sought treatment and decided to use her lump as a teaching tool in her classes.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/UCF College of Nursing<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSo in my labs, I said, \u2018Alright everybody, come feel this,’\u201d Joyce said. \u201cSo they (my students) felt it, and then I said, \u2018Alright, let\u2019s do a complete lymph exam<\/a>.\u2019 So they started back here, and they started, and they said, \u2018Oh, Ms. D, you have one right here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Joyce\u2019s treatment truly changed the way she taught. After she realized what it was like to be on the other side of the healthcare system, she began documenting her experience and teaching her students about how to be more compassionate and thoughtful nurses.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/UCF College of Nursing<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI always thought I gave really good care until I was on the other side of the stethoscope,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I was like, I can be so much better. Just the little things, like an ice pack that I never thought of that could relieve pain for someone, or holding someone\u2019s hand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/UCF College of Nursing<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cShe posted these videos for all of us to watch,\u201d said nursing student Megan Donnelly<\/a>, \u201cand just the way that she connects that, her journey, into teaching in a very personal way, it\u2019s amazing. She probably doesn\u2019t even know how many times me and my friends will text each other and talk about her and be like, \u2018If she can do everything she\u2019s doing, we can definitely do this.\u2019 I don\u2019t think she has any idea the impact she has on all of us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For years, Joyce fought her cancer and seemed to be winning. She even went into remission on a few occasions, although each time it was followed by a recurrence. She seemed to be doing better than expected, but then her students noticed another red flag.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/UCF College of Nursing<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cShe was absent from class one day,\u201d Donnelly recalled. \u201cWhenever she was late or absent, we\u2019d all get super worried.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Days later, Joyce posted on Facebook that her cancer had returned with a vengeance. It had spread farther than ever before.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shortly after Thanksgiving, Joyce went into the hospital, where she later passed away from her disease. She was just 41 years old<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/UCF College of Nursing<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe biggest loss really is those that will never be able to be taught by her,\u201d said UCF College of Nursing Clinical Coordinator Kate Dorminy<\/a>. \u201cThose of us who will have to continue on without her, because she played such a significant role.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Joyce touched thousands of lives while working at UCF, and she will be dearly missed by all her students and colleagues, who continue to remember her as the woman who powered through a difficult time in her life to continue teaching because she knew how important it was.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/UCF College of Nursing<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI think 10, 20, 40 years down the line\u2026I think we\u2019re all going to be keeping her in mind even then,\u201d said Dorminy. \u201cI wish I could talk to her kids, because that\u2019s what I think about the most. To just let them know, \u2018Your mom changed the world.’\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Joyce\u2019s students and colleagues wore pink<\/a> in her memory the Wednesday following the announcement of her death. May this wonderful woman, mother, and educator rest in peace after her job well done.<\/span><\/p>\n

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