Vital Views

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Jackie,

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Hello. I'm Dr Jackie Killian, associate professor for the UNLV School of Nursing, and it's my honor to act as host for this episode of vital views this

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summer, in the month of June, of June, we celebrated National Cancer survivors month, a time to honor and reflect on the lives of cancer survivors and their progress since diagnosis. I have with me one of our direct entry MSN students, Ms Tenille Pritchard to share her inspiring story with us. Welcome to Neil. Thank you so much.

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It's really nice to have you here with us today in the studio. Tell me a little bit about yourself, where you're from, and so forth. Well, I am originally from Boston, Massachusetts, born and raised, lived there until I went to college in New York. So about 1718, years old. I lived in New York. I said, I went to school there. I went to college there, got my undergraduate degree there,

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degree in business management and minor in dance. And then after I graduated, I moved into the city, New York City, and like all 21 year olds, said, it's New York. This is amazing. And I was just trying to figure out what I was going to do. I had a degree, and I was young and had some time to play around. Sure

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decided I wanted to join a dance program. So I did the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. They have a summer intensive and a year long program. So I did that for a little under two years. I love that dance training. They're amazing. They are amazing, and the training there is amazing as well.

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So yeah, I did that, and then I lived in New York and danced for a little bit and made my way. I lived in Chicago and been in Vegas for 16 years now, wow. Okay, and now you're pursuing a nursing degree. I am so tell me why nursing? That is a very good question. So I guess

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it's twofold. Really the answer to it Sure,

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about 10 years ago, roughly, I saw the documentary The business of being born, and it blew my mind. I was like, Is this what having a baby is like versus what it could be like? O, M, D, so I started, just like, researching what to do. La, what a midwife, what's the difference between the two? And I really got invested, and said, This is something that I want to do. Of course, at the time, I was still kind of tail end of dancing, so I kind of dabbled in it a little bit, but not didn't go full force, okay? And so, like all of us, the pandemic happened, and it completely slowed my life down. I was working like 16 hour days, and then it was like, Nope, you're not doing anything. So I said, You know what? Now's a good time to go back to school. What do you want to do? And so after researching, I really wanted to get a nursing degree first, and then try to go into midwifery. The second part of that is that, of course, 2020 I got to slow down and said, Hmm, something about my body doesn't really feel right. And so I found a new primary care doctor. Went to the doctor was telling him my concerns

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wasn't really being heard.

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Decided, You know what, I think I'm going to go to a GI doctor just to make sure everything's okay. Went in, had a colonoscopy, and I ended up they found a huge tumor in my colon, rectum area. And their goodness I there, we don't even know how you've been functioning, but for sure, this has to be cancerous. So I went through a bunch of testing different doctors,

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and I did catch it early, but it was stage one colorectal cancer, okay? And so I ended up having surgery, lower anterior resection, so they took out my rectum, all my lymph nodes in that area,

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and said, you should be okay. You have to get colonoscopies at least once a year for a little bit just to make sure everything is good. But I ended up with an ostomy. So I had an ileostomy, and I had it for three months, couple.

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Completely unexpected too, right out of nowhere, exactly, and they kind of talked to me about it. But, you know, we all know how that is. You go to the doctor and you're listening, but you're not really. You're covering everything. Yeah, you're trying to absorb all the information that you're given. And at some point, because I had been to so many doctors as like, I don't even know if some of what you guys are telling me is true. So I was just really adamant, like, well, I don't think I need the ileostomy. I think I can get through the surgery without it. So it was the thing where I was going into surgery, where it was like, 50% you might come out with it. 50% you know, you may not. So I was hoping to not have it. But of course, I woke up from surgery and had it okay. So it was, you know, that was a hurdle too, because it was something I it. I just in my head, although they told me, yeah, you probably will have the ileostomy in my head, I was like, I'm gonna wake up. I'm not gonna have it. It'll be fine. So I just had to adjust. But I realized having home health care that a lot like I had a couple of nurses that were coming to my house, and I was asking them questions specifically on nutrition,

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even just things to take to settle my stomach, because, like, well, now this is different. Yeah, your life is altered exactly, for anybody who doesn't know what an ileostomy is, it's, you can have an ileostomy or a colostomy bag, and so basically, that's how your waste comes out. For some people have it indefinitely. I had mine for three months, so that's how I went to the bathroom. And it's, it's an adjustment. So you do have to change, like your eating habits and certain things, especially with an ileostomy, because it's in your small intestine, so you have to make sure you're still getting a lot of nutrients to your body, because it's not having your food, is not having, not traveling as much, you don't get as much absorption, exactly. So I really had to kind of zone in, and I was asking these specific questions, and my nurses didn't really have answers for me. And then it's just maintenance of your your unit. You know, how do I keep this thing on me? When I take it off, how do I put it back on? There's so many, there's different companies that have their different types of bags, and you don't know, you know, it's just, it's a lot that I didn't even realize. So YouTube was my best friend

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the whole time. I found so maybe by YouTube all the time. I mean, that's social media is in that way, it's a blessing. Yeah. So I just watched so many different people's videos that little tips, hints from different people. But that also kind of fueled me, because I was like, well, if I'm having this much trouble, and I I only have mine for three months. What happens when people go into emergency surgery and come out and they don't even they have no idea. They're not even told, Oh, you might have this or might not. They just go into surgery and come out with this bag. And if you're having people that are coming to your house that are supposed to be professionals and answer your questions that can't really, I'm not giving you proper information. That's a problem. So I was kind of torn, you know, nursing, I like, uh, I kind of love both things, yes, um, invested in both. I'm really midwifery is. It's just pushing me that way. So I love it. It's your love. It is. It is you love. And so, so after three months, you had another surgery. Yes, I did, and I have it reversed, so

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they can some people have permanent ostomies. Mine, thankfully, was able to be reversed. So I had another surgery and had it reversed. But that's also a whole nother journey, because your body has to figure out how to function again, right? And so, yeah, it's, I mean, it's been years, and I'm still trying to, you know, it's day to day, week to eat. So how many years ago? So it was in 2020, 2021, I got diagnosed. Okay, so it's been three years now. Three years you've been having your checks. I've been having my checks. Yes, still cancer free, sincere surgery. So they told me three years

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after three years, I would technically be in remission, okay, this would be year three, but I just found out that I have and re diagnosed. So I see Yeah, so the first time I just had surgery, okay, okay, so this time I'm gonna do chemo. Okay, so, yeah, we're just gonna go from there. But yeah, cancer's a tricky thing. It is a tricky thing. Very, very tricky thing. And even the first time that I was diagnosed, they were like, I can't believe you caught it that early, because, like I said, the tumor itself was huge, but my body wasn't showing anything. I wasn't, you know, my stomach wasn't protruding. It wasn't nothing was was showing, oh, you just had a feeling I was having symptoms, you know. And everybody's symptoms are a little bit different. Okay, some people said they had a lot of pain.

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Pain that wasn't one of my symptoms, mostly mine was just bowel function was a big part for me, and I just knew something was not right. But it's it's hard. I've been a dancer for 20 years. My metabolism is crazy. I'm always running around doing stuff, so I don't necessarily have the same habits that, you know, normal other people, yeah. So it's, you know, it's a hard thing, but it's also something, I think that fueled me too, is going to your primary care and saying, Hey, I think something's not right, and have them say to you, no, you're fine. You're fine. It's just this. It's just that. You told me I had hemorrhoids. And I was like, that's not, it's Yeah. I know it's not. So yeah. So be persistent and seek answers to your questions. That's what you're trying to say, is it's key. You know your body. We all know our bodies. You know your everyday function. So you know when something's off. You know. And there are little things that happen where you're just today's not quite right. You know, if it's something where it's like, today is not quite right. I've had a couple days feeling off where it's been a week. I still feel like that something's wrong. And don't let any body tell you, Oh, it's just, it's just, it's just, sometimes you do have to listen to that because, you know, we can be hypochondriacs. Sometimes, you know, we run around, I you know, it's right. Sometimes we get a little crazy, like I said, social media. We get on, you know, WebMD and go, Oh no, I have this because I had a stomachache So, and it's nowhere near, you know, it actually is something like, Oh, you just have a little gas, but I think for the most part, we're all in tune with our bodies. And you know, if something's really, really wrong, it doesn't feel right. So just being persistent, and if you need to go to a specialist, do that right, right? And so is your family still in Boston? Or my family here, my family is still in Boston. I have

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a bunch of friends here that I've known since I pretty much got here. Okay, so it's been for past 15 years I've had the same kind of network of friends, but yeah, all my family's back in Boston. I try to go once a year. My mom comes a lot, you know, to Vegas. Of course, it's not hard to say I'm just gonna go to Vegas see my daughter for a month. So, yeah, we go back and forth quite a bit. Okay, okay. And have you seen significant changes in yourself

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living with cancer? I mean, obviously we've talked about how it's had some significant changes for you, physically in the outset, you know, and moving forward, yeah, it changes your your whole perception of of

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what your life is and what you're doing, you know, I think that that's my biggest thing. I think I've been talking to, you know, friends and family for me, I think in particular, my biggest anxieties come from actually having to tell

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your family and your friends what's going on. I see because, you know, like I said, for me personally, I never want to be that person that disappoints everybody that goes, everybody goes, No. So, you know, it gives me a little that has given me anxiety, even having to say, well, this is going on. But, I mean, I have a great support system, but you have to also remember that,

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unless you've actually heard those words being said to you, don't know what that feels like. So it really does change your perception of life and how you function. But it's also hard for me, because I don't know how it is being a caregiver, somebody that's with me, you know, my best friend, when I had my reversal surgery, came and took care of me for a whole month, took off of work. Everything was away from her kids, and just said, Nope, I'm there. I've known her literally since we've been born, okay,

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a lot of decades, we write each other, we write or die. Yeah, together. But, you know, I have to think of how she feels too being in that position. I know how I feel, but it just how do caregivers feel, having to take care of somebody and watch somebody go through surgeries or go through chemo and these different things. So, yeah, it really does change your your way of thinking. And I've always, I had a ballet teacher when I was younger, well, when I was at Ailey, that used to call me tenacious tea. Okay, so I've always kind of been like that person, like, No, I have to get it. I have to do it. It has to be right. I'm not going to stop until I do it. But, yeah, I mean, after being diagnosed, of course, everything is just now. It's go. It's every everything that I put my hands on, I want to make sure I do it. I do it to the best of my ability, and I don't want to quit at anything, by any means necessary. So he gets me in trouble. Sometimes my friends yell at me, but sounds like that's kind of like your life philosophy. It is what's important.

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To you, it is, I just, I'm, I'm, I guess I would say I'm a go getter, okay, but, yeah, I just once I start something, I really want to see it through to the end, because I think just life lessons, especially being an artist, you learn that everything happens for a reason. There's so many things that I can look back on and say, I've wanted that, that part in that place so bad. And then now I realize, oh, that's why I didn't get it. Can be a year later, three months later, five years later, you realize, okay, that hindsight, it's all the plan so, and you're in your first semester right of the direct entry MSN program, yes. So how would you say that this experience,

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how would you say that that has affected your first semester? Like, how is the first semester going? The first semester is good. It's hard. Yeah. I think we can all attest to the fact that we came in, we started and said, Okay, we're ready to do this. And then we got into the middle of semester and said, Ooh, okay, we gotta strap in a lot. Yeah, so I mean, but it's been going well. Like I said, I had my last clinical today. It's been great. I think the best thing is being able to be hands on. So you're reading all these things and learning all these things, but it's been great to go to clinicals and really be hands on with patients.

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But just Yeah, I mean, I got re diagnosed in the in the midst of this, of this, yes, okay, so it's been, it's been quite interesting, because it's been trying to navigate everything. I'm also still kind of working. So okay, work and school and this, and I also volunteer as well at Summerlin hospital. So okay, yeah, you do that volunteer work as a doula, I do, and it's awesome. We get to just knock on doors and say, Hi mama, you look like you might be in a little bit of pain. How can I help you? And I do everything from foot massages to yoga balls to a room with therapy, so whatever Mama needs to get her through the pain. Yeah, as much as I can do, some some mamas are like, Nope, I'm just gonna do that epidural, and we're gonna be done.

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And I respect it. Whatever you need, whatever they need. It's awesome, because they don't this program is pretty new. And so there we have seen mothers that have had previous children, at, you know, at Summerlin, and they're like, oh, this wasn't here last time. And they love it. We get a lot of great feedback, yeah, so we're excited about it. I hopefully it spans to different hospitals, because I think summer is the only place that has it right now. I see, okay, well, I think probably your whole experience, and then getting, you know, newly diagnosed during the semester like that, has to affect your perspective when you're in that clinical setting. It does, because you're the carer in the clinical setting, but then at the same time, in your own personal life, you're also a patient, yeah, and I think too, just like one of the patients we have, you know, like in any hospital, sometimes we go, there's people that have been there from the time that we started to the time that we're done. And, you know, I came across a patient with the colostomy, and so we had a discussion. And you know, he's talking to me, and he's telling me, he's like, Yeah, but I can't do this. And I'm like, you can. And he's going back and forth. And I said, No, I know you can, because I had one, so let me tell you. And then he stopped, so powerful, and so it was great, because it was like we could actually have a conversation where I know he was listening and understanding me. Because I was like, No, I'm not just telling you this, as you know one of the medical professionals. I'm telling you, as somebody who has been through it, this is you're you're good. This is what's going to happen. This is how this works. So, yeah, it's interesting being in the clinical setting, because you see so many different things happening, and so you're just like, trying to absorb everything, but also, you know, applying everything that you're learning, taking everything in, but also just trying to

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make the patients feel normalized. I mean, I know it, it's not fun to be in the hospital for days and days on end, right? I know that for people at their worst, yes, when they're in pain, when they're not feeling well, exactly. And there are people that apologize, oh, I'm sorry about it's like, don't even, yeah, no, we're there to care Exactly. I'm here to make sure that you are comfortable and you're okay, and our goal is to get you out of here. So, yeah, well, Tenille, your story is so inspiring. I just want to.

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Thank you for spending time with me today on this episode of vital views and for sharing your incredible story of surviving cancer, still surviving cancer. This is Dr Jackie Killian. I'm signing off for UNLV School of Nursing vital views podcast. I wish you all a joyful rest of your day. You

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