Tonya Randolph: a caregiver’s journey

Tonya Randolph, RN stands confidently in front of the camera. The Power of Compassion.

By Norma Rabago

Tonya Randolph, RN, senior registered nurse at the Mays Cancer Center, carries more than a year’s worth of heart-breaking memories on her phone’s calendar. Among them:

  • Jan. 15, 2022: Her best friend and fellow traveling nurse, Jessica James, discovered a seemingly insignificant red line on her arm.
  • March 14, 2022: Surgery to remove a tumor on James’ ovary.
  • March 18, 2022: A stage 4 cancer diagnosis.
Tonya Randolph and Jessica James stand next to each other.
Tonya Randolph, RN, senior registered nurse at Mays Cancer Center, and Jessica James, RN

The calendar entries mark each moment, but they inadequately document the terror of traversing more than 700 miles via a camper from New Mexico to Texas against the advice of a doctor, the discovery of more ailments, the frustration of painful treatments, the loss of jobs and the love of a best friend through faith and compassionate care.

It’s a journey that continues to this day as James, once cancer-free, faces a recurrence of cancer in a lymph node and intense radiation treatment.

Randolph and James met over eight years ago while working as nurses. The two developed a fast friendship founded in their love of nursing, traveling and the outdoors. After a hiking trip while on assignment in New Mexico, they noticed a small red line on the inside of James’ forearm.

“It was a little mark that looked like she leaned against a table. We watched it for several days, and it slowly crept up her arm. I thought it might be a blood clot,” Randolph said.

A visit to an emergency room confirmed a blood clot, while further scans showed a series of strokes, a tumor on her right ovary, liver necrosis and spleen and renal infarctions — areas of dead tissue resulting from inadequate blood supply.

After an ultrasound and a five-day stay in the hospital, the duo was told James didn’t have cancer, then quickly told she did have cancer. The confusion led to a decision to move back home to San Antonio where they could lean on family members for support and seek treatment.

Randolph packed up their camper, and with the help of James’ twin sister, a respiratory therapist, and her sister-in-law, a paramedic, they began a two-day, 700-mile journey home.

“I thought those were the worst two days of my life. But it got worse,” Randolph said.

A harrowing month

Within a few days of arriving home, and with the help of family members, James had appointments with a gynecologic oncologist and gastroenterologist. During her meeting with a gastroenterologist, James complained of stomach pain and became violently ill. An emergency room visit revealed elevated cardiac enzymes and, later, a mass near James’ heart.

The cardiologist pulled Randolph outside the room and told her the mass near James’ heart was inoperable.

For 30 days, Randolph cared for James at home, draining her lung, which had developed a pulmonary effusion — or liquid in her lung — while treating the mass near her heart with medication. During those 30 days, with James unable to have any surgeries for the various ailments until the mass near her heart was gone, Randolph did what she could to help. She changed their diet to include only organic foods and read a book that recommended carrots to fight cancer. Daily, she prepared five pounds of carrot juice for James to drink.

“You feel like you are going crazy. But it comes down to, ‘How much do you want to live?’ That was the question. I remember asking Jessica to stay with me, to do whatever you can to stay with me,” she said. “I would literally knock potato chips from her mouth if the label said it might cause cancer. I did what I could, and she was determined to do what she could.”

After 30 days, the mass near James’ heart was gone and she was cleared for surgery to remove the tumor on her ovary. The surgery occurred March 14, two months after the initial visit to the emergency room in New Mexico.

“When we got cleared for surgery, we still didn’t have a definitive diagnosis of cancer. She had multiple biopsies, but they were inconclusive and showed atypical cells but not cancer. It was frustrating,” Randolph said.

The tumor was removed, and James and Randolph received confirmation of stage 4 ovarian cancer.

“I remember thinking this is the worst day of my life,” Randolph said.

However, the other ailments plaguing James — liver necrosis and spleen and renal infarctions — had spontaneously disappeared. After the diagnosis, the duo gathered family members and decided to take a short vacation before the cancer treatments began.

“We escaped to the beach and took family photos, just in case it was the last time,” Randolph said.

At another medical facility, James was treated with chemotherapy and radiation. After a painful treatment of brachytherapy, James refused to go through the radiation treatment again. They then chose to move her care to Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio.

Peace at last

Three individuals stand smiling at the camera.
Jessica James, RN; Mark Bonnen, MD, physician-in-chief, Mays Cancer Center; and Tonya Randolph, RN,
after completing the center’s 2024 Give Cancer the Boot Survivorship 5K and 1-Mile Walk

“When we met with the doctors at Mays, Jessica and I felt a sense of peace,” Randolph said. “We hadn’t felt that kind of peace in close to a year.”

Randolph met Elizabeth Peche, RN, a nurse in the Mays Cancer Center’s radiation oncology department. At their first meeting, Peche looked Randolph directly in the eyes and asked a simple question: “How are you doing?” Randolph burst into tears.

“She stopped looking at the diagnosis and looked at the people in front of her. I couldn’t even answer,” she said.

Peche said the empathy she felt for Randolph and James came naturally.

“I knew that they had already been through a lot. It’s human nature, and I cared about how Tonya was doing. I couldn’t not ask, because a patient’s support system needs support, too,” she said.

Jessica James stands with one fist in the air at a finish line.That show of empathy permitted Randolph to finally leave James’ side for the first time since their cancer journey began.

“I could breathe and I felt it was OK to trust someone else with Jessica’s care. I felt peace. I knew she was going to be OK, and I knew no one here was going to hurt her,” Randolph said.

Throughout their journey, Randolph tried to find moments to maintain a sense of normalcy despite the many stressors they faced. They went for walks when James was well enough to venture outside, and after each round of chemotherapy, they enjoyed night fishing, a favorite pastime.

“For both of us, it was important to focus on what we still could do,” she said.

Giving back

As Randolph experienced the compassion of James’s care team, especially during brachytherapy treatment, she chose to apply for a job at the Mays Cancer Center. Today, she is working as an oncology clinic nurse and pays back the kindness and empathy shown to her and James.

“When we walked through the [Mays Cancer Center] doors, I felt peace, and I want to give that back to other families. The patient needs it. The family needs it,” Randolph said. “As a nurse, I try to take every ounce of weight they have on their shoulders and put that on me. If that means you need to cry on me or it means you need to hand me a stack of medical bills or you need me to make a call to your job — whatever you need, let me give it to you. That’s what I want to do.”

“As a nurse, I try to take every ounce of weight they have on their shoulders and put that on me. If that means you need to cry on me or it means you need to hand me a stack of medical bills or you need me to make a call to your job — whatever you need, let me give it to you. That’s what I want to do.”

– Tonya Randolph, RN, senior registered nurse at Mays Cancer Center

 


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