Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing • Volume 20, Number 3 • Heart of Oncology Nursing 343 Supporting One Another for 40 Years Heart of Oncology Nursing Lisa Kennedy Sheldon, PhD, ANP-BC, AOCNP ® —Editor Mary L.S. Vachon, PhD, RN, and Deborah K. Mayer, PhD, RN, AOCN ® , FAAN T he Oncology Nursing Society’s (ONS’s) 40th anniversary stimu- lated our reflections on the profes- sional and personal benefits of caring for people with cancer. We wanted to share a story about an oncology nurse support group that has continued to meet every six weeks for 40 years. Initially, we were all 30–49 years old and are now 70–89! In the early 1970s, Phyllis Burgess, director of nursing at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) in Toronto, along with the staff at PMH, became concerned about the psychosocial needs of both the patients and the staff who were having increasing difficulty working with dy- ing patients. Burgess brought a petition from the nurses to the director of PMH for psychological help and training in dealing with patients suffering from life-threatening illnesses. This petition led to the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry working with the staff to address these needs. As a result, patient support groups began, and nurses from PMH and other centers were taught to facilitate these groups in the Coping With Cancer course. This was offered as a pilot pro- gram and sponsored by the Toronto Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society. Group meetings for inpatients and community groups for outpatients and their families aimed to help them cope with the chal- lenges of cancer. Our group of nine evolved from the course. In 1975, we became group facili- tators in various Toronto hospitals and in the community. The support group in- cluded Mary Vachon, research scientist and mental health consultant at Clarke In- stitute of Psychiatry; Joan Wright Haines, nursing director of Oncology Outpatient Clinic, Toronto Western; Ellie Wasser- man, head nurse, Oncology, Mount Sinai; Mary L.S. Vachon, PhD, RN, is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto in Canada, and Deborah K. Mayer, PhD, RN, AOCN ® , FAAN, is a professor in the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina (UNC)–Chapel Hill and director of Cancer Survivorship at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. The authors take full responsibility for the content of the article. The authors did not receive honoraria for this work. No financial relationships relevant to the content of this article have been disclosed by the authors or editorial staff. Vachon can be reached at maryvachon@sympatico.ca, with copy to editor at CJONEditor@ons.org. Key words: support; compassion fatigue; oncology nursing history Digital Object Identifier: 10.1188/16.CJON.343-344 Note. Pictured, from left to right, are Mary Vachon, Ellie Wasserman, Eileen Goodin, Ann Harrington, Bette Johnson, Marg Sigmundson, Marie Samuels, and Pat Walker. Not pictured is Joan Wright Haines. Note. Pictured, from left to right, are Ellie Wasserman, Pat Walker, Marie Samu- els, Marg Sigmundson, Ann Harrington, Mary Vachon, Bette Johnson, Joan Haines, and Eileen Goodin. In my working years, all the people in the group gave amazing support, just being with nursing colleagues and being able to speak freely and know that anything said remained within the four walls of our host’s home. Now that I am retired, I love getting together for the great food, the chat, and the camaraderie. Confidence in starting groups with parents, encouragement to take on Coping With Cancer course, solid group for sharing and problem solving, support- ive group of friends for 40 years. Diverse but compat- ible group even though we don’t see each other between meetings, we are there for each, lean on each other, always. The 1970s . . . . . . and today! Downloaded on 01 24 2019. Single-user license only. Copyright 2019 by the Oncology Nursing Society. For permission to post online, reprint, adapt, or reuse, please email pubpermissions@ons.org