{"id":2508,"date":"2024-06-20T06:00:42","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T06:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazines.uthscsa.edu\/cancer-center\/?p=2508"},"modified":"2024-07-03T20:39:56","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T20:39:56","slug":"tonya-randolph-a-caregivers-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazines.uthscsa.edu\/cancer-center\/2024\/06\/20\/tonya-randolph-a-caregivers-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Tonya Randolph: a caregiver\u2019s journey"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Norma Rabago<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Tonya Randolph, RN, senior registered nurse at the Mays Cancer Center, carries more than a year\u2019s worth of heart-breaking memories on her phone\u2019s calendar. Among them:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jan. 15, 2022: Her best friend and fellow traveling nurse, Jessica James, discovered a seemingly insignificant red line on her arm.<\/li>\n<li>March 14, 2022: Surgery to remove a tumor on James\u2019 ovary.<\/li>\n<li>March 18, 2022: A stage 4 cancer diagnosis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2510\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2510\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2510 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/magazines.uthscsa.edu\/cancer-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/06\/randolph_james.jpg\" alt=\"Tonya Randolph and Jessica James stand next to each other. \" width=\"400\" height=\"202\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2510\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tonya Randolph, RN, senior registered nurse at Mays Cancer Center, and Jessica James, RN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019 forearm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt 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,\u201d Randolph said.<\/p>\n<p>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 \u2014 areas of dead tissue resulting from inadequate blood supply.<\/p>\n<p>After an ultrasound and a five-day stay in the hospital, the duo was told James didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n<p>Randolph packed up their camper, and with the help of James\u2019 twin sister, a respiratory therapist, and her sister-in-law, a paramedic, they began a two-day, 700-mile journey home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought those were the worst two days of my life. But it got worse,\u201d Randolph said.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #a54d2e\">A harrowing month<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>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\u2019 heart.<\/p>\n<p>The cardiologist pulled Randolph outside the room and told her the mass near James\u2019 heart was inoperable.<\/p>\n<p>For 30 days, Randolph cared for James at home, draining her lung, which had developed a pulmonary effusion \u2014 or liquid in her lung \u2014 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou feel like you are going crazy. But it comes down to, \u2018How much do you want to live?\u2019 That was the question. I remember asking Jessica to stay with me, to do whatever you can to stay with me,\u201d she said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After 30 days, the mass near James\u2019 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we got cleared for surgery, we still didn\u2019t have a definitive diagnosis of cancer. She had multiple biopsies, but they were inconclusive and showed atypical cells but not cancer. It was frustrating,\u201d Randolph said.<\/p>\n<p>The tumor was removed, and James and Randolph received confirmation of stage 4 ovarian cancer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember thinking this is the worst day of my life,\u201d Randolph said.<\/p>\n<p>However, the other ailments plaguing James \u2014 liver necrosis and spleen and renal infarctions \u2014 had spontaneously disappeared. After the diagnosis, the duo gathered family members and decided to take a short vacation before the cancer treatments began.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe escaped to the beach and took family photos, just in case it was the last time,\u201d Randolph said.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #a54d2e\">Peace at last<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2511\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2511\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2511 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/magazines.uthscsa.edu\/cancer-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/06\/trio.jpg\" alt=\"Three individuals stand smiling at the camera.\" width=\"350\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magazines.uthscsa.edu\/cancer-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/06\/trio.jpg 350w, https:\/\/magazines.uthscsa.edu\/cancer-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/06\/trio-280x300.jpg 280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2511\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jessica James, RN; Mark Bonnen, MD, physician-in-chief, Mays Cancer Center; and Tonya Randolph, RN,<br \/>after completing the center\u2019s 2024 Give Cancer the Boot Survivorship 5K and 1-Mile Walk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWhen we met with the doctors at Mays, Jessica and I felt a sense of peace,\u201d Randolph said. \u201cWe hadn\u2019t felt that kind of peace in close to a year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Randolph met Elizabeth Peche, RN, a nurse in the Mays Cancer Center\u2019s radiation oncology department. At their first meeting, Peche looked Randolph directly in the eyes and asked a simple question: \u201cHow are you doing?\u201d Randolph burst into tears.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe stopped looking at the diagnosis and looked at the people in front of her. I couldn\u2019t even answer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Peche said the empathy she felt for Randolph and James came naturally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI knew that they had already been through a lot. It\u2019s human nature, and I cared about how Tonya was doing. I couldn\u2019t not ask, because a patient\u2019s support system needs support, too,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2512 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/magazines.uthscsa.edu\/cancer-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/06\/james.jpg\" alt=\"Jessica James stands with one fist in the air at a finish line.\" width=\"275\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magazines.uthscsa.edu\/cancer-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/06\/james.jpg 275w, https:\/\/magazines.uthscsa.edu\/cancer-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/06\/james-220x300.jpg 220w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px\" \/>That show of empathy permitted Randolph to finally leave James\u2019 side for the first time since their cancer journey began.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI could breathe and I felt it was OK to trust someone else with Jessica\u2019s care. I felt peace. I knew she was going to be OK, and I knew no one here was going to hurt her,\u201d Randolph said.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor both of us, it was important to focus on what we still could do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #a54d2e\">Giving back<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>As Randolph experienced the compassion of James\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen 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,\u201d Randolph said. \u201cAs 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 \u2014 whatever you need, let me give it to you. That\u2019s what I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cAs 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 \u2014 whatever you need, let me give it to you. That\u2019s what I want to do.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: right\"><strong>\u2013 Tonya Randolph<\/strong>, RN, senior registered nurse at Mays Cancer Center<\/h5>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tonya Randolph, RN, senior registered nurse at the Mays Cancer Center, carries more than a year\u2019s worth of heart-breaking memories on her phone\u2019s calendar that document her best friend\u2019s discovery of a cancer diagnosis and her journey to recovery. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":653,"featured_media":2635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"magazine":[22],"issue-year":[65],"featured-story":[36],"class_list":["post-2508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-power-of-compassion","magazine-cancer-center","issue-year-65","featured-story-homepage"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tonya Randolph: a caregiver\u2019s journey - Mays Cancer Center Annual Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tonya Randolph, RN, senior registered nurse at the Mays Cancer Center, carries more than a year\u2019s worth of heart-breaking memories on her phone\u2019s calendar that document her best friend&#039;s discovery of a cancer diagnosis. 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