“You need to sit there and listen, and build on what you see” – Tina Dahl, cancer nurse

Tina Dahl always sits close beside a new patient, quietly observing as they wait to see the oncologist for the first time. She knows that what happens during that first conversation will help her to discover what makes this person tick. What is important to them? What are their worries? And how much do they already know about their treatment?

This is the kind of holistic, whole-person approach that her patients have come to value so highly in her work as a cancer nurse at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark. Most cancer patients only see their doctor at the beginning and end of a course of chemotherapy, as well as once midway through. Tina typically sees 90 patients over the full 6 months of their treatment course. She adds that sometimes she spends more time with her patients than her own family.

“As a nurse, I am key to the patient’s journey. It’s important to meet in the right environment, to observe their body language and establish a good connection from the outset,” she explains.

“Some patients have done a lot of research and feel their situation is overwhelming. Others know very little, don’t ask questions and need to be guided through the treatment pathway. My job is to create a sense of well-being for the patient and to give them the energy to see that they will get through it.”

Tina adds, “When we succeed with this, as we fortunately often do, then we’ve done our job well. Of course, there are also some who die from breast cancer, and that’s when it becomes very difficult.”

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