Salman Fazal, Hematology Lead at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, shared on LinkedIn:
“In the spirit of National Advanced Practice Provider Week, I want to recognize the APPs who make cancer care possible every single day.
Cancer medicine is not an easy path. It asks for your mind, your time, and a piece of your heart with every patient. To choose this work, and to keep choosing it on the hardest days, takes a special kind of person.
Throughout my career in hematology, transplant, and cellular therapy, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some of the best nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the field. I have watched them sit at the bedside long after their shift ended. I have seen them hold a patient’s hand through frightening news, and then find the words to explain it with clarity and hope.
That is the part patients never forget. One APP colleague once described it as an honor to walk with patients and families through one of the most vulnerable times in their lives. She is right. It is an honor, and it is also a weight that our APPs carry with grace, often quietly and without recognition.
It truly takes a village: physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and APPs working as one team. But so often, the APP becomes the familiar face.
To every APP I have worked with, past and present: thank you. Thank you for your compassion, your resilience, and your heart.
Happy APP Week.”
Other articles featuring Salman Fazal on OncoDaily.