January 26, 2021

Hope above all: WSU Applebaum student's tattoos represent patient impact

Wayne State University Radiation Therapy Technology student Ivana Juncaj has been deeply affected by her young patients – and she is marking her experiences in permanent ink.

In her own words below, Ivana tells the powerful stories behind her tattoos. 

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When I first found out about the field of radiation therapy, one of the first things I did was to get a volunteer position at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. I knew that choosing a field like this would come with a lot of emotions, and I wanted to experience it first hand to make sure that for the rest of my life I could handle the duty of treating patients who are going through cancer.

As a volunteer in the hematology/oncology clinic, we were able to find activities that children could participate in while they received chemotherapy or blood transfusions. Most of these children were there for hours at a time, sometimes daily or multiple times a week. I was able to become really close to some of these patients, and my time as a volunteer here – and one of the patients in particular – left a forever place in my heart.

This patient was going through chemotherapy for cancer, and from what I knew, his case was not good. From time to time, we would be doing some form of arts and crafts together and he would express how scared he was. He was a younger patient, so I tried finding the best way to make him feel safe in a way he could understand. I started to tell him that many aspects of life have the capability of falling but can find a way to rise up again just like his condition could. He started to make sense of it using toys that were around us and I could tell he was finally feeling some form of comfort.

As time went by, this young boy eventually passed away. I ran into his parents one day and they stopped to tell me that their son would repeat what I told him every time they expressed a distressed emotion about his illness. I will never forget that conversation, and in memory of this conversation and beautiful young boy that passed away, I decided to get my first tattoo ever: a heartbeat that is falling, then rising again.

Shortly after starting the Radiation Therapy Technology program at Wayne State, I was placed at Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit for my second clinical rotation. Not many clinic sites we attend treat pediatric cases, so I was really happy to be at Karmanos.

During my rotation, I was fortunate enough to help treat a young boy who was battling an aggressive form of cancer. He was a little older than the patient in the story above, so he had more of an idea of what was going on each time he came to his treatments. Each day, he would come in with the biggest smile on his face and ready to get his treatment.

His case required a custom mask we made for him to be worn each treatment, and each day he would come with me to the sticker cabinet, so he could add a new one to his mask so it didn’t look “boring,” in his words. Every day I remind myself how lucky I am to have been a part of his treatment, because he is the most optimistic person I have ever met. 

His mother came inside the treatment room each day to make sure he was okay and gave him a kiss on the forehead before we began. Some days she was a little less strong than others and would cry before leaving the room. One day, she gave him a hug before he jumped up on the treatment table and she began to cry harder than most times. The young boy quickly ran to her and said, “Mom, remember we need to have hope. Hope is strong.” I looked at this young boy in awe and could not believe he was the one saying these things to his mom and not the other way around.

The rest of the day, all I could think about is how fortunate I am to meet young souls like this who represent the words hope, wisdom, optimism, strength and courage so beautifully. On his last day of treatment, he gave me the biggest hug and on the day of his follow-up a month later, he circled the department to make sure he found me to tell me what he dressed up for on Halloween and how fast he is in gym class.

The relationship I developed with him is something I will cherish forever and has taught me life lessons I could never forget. To represent this experience, I got a tattoo of the word “Hope” with a big line underneath it, meaning: Hope above ALL.

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About radiation therapy technology

Radiation therapists have a unique opportunity to blend the knowledge and skills of mathematics, science and psychology in their daily work. Radiation therapists operate sophisticated radiation equipment to treat malignant tissue, assist in designing cancer treatment through the use of 3D computer-generated calculations, recognize when a patient is having additional medical problems that require a doctor's attention and provide psychological support for patients who are dealing with the stress of their illness.

The bachelor of science in radiation therapy technology is offered through Wayne State’s Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. The application deadline is Nov. 30. Learn more on the RTT website. 

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