‘One in a Million’ Oncology Nurse Connecting Patients to Care for a Rare Cancer

A mother describes how an administrator was able to help connect her and her son to the care that he needed for fibrolamellar carcinoma.

When my son was diagnosed with ultra-rare fibrolamellar carcinoma in June 2020, we were shocked and terrified. I was given contact information for Jessica Ellison, M.S.N., RN, BA, not knowing who she was or where to turn. Within a matter of days, I was connected with the No. 1 team in the country for dealing with this cancer, and it is because of Jessica.

She talked me off the ceiling in the evening on the weekend she was available to help my son. Since then, she has paved the way for our family and has made an impossible situation as seamless as possible. As an administrator, she has an incredible talent for organizing a talented team of doctors, radiologists and surgeons, which in turn gives the families quick turnaround time and a feeling of really being part of a caring community.

Jessica is one in a million, and we will be forever grateful for her work with and for our family.

Editor’s Note: This is an essay submitted by Emily Capece for the 2021 Extraordinary Healer Award. Click here to read more about CURE®’s Extraordinary Healer® Award for Oncology Nursing event on April 30, 2021.

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