'It's quite an honour'

A Barrie nurse says it's 'quite an honour' to be named winner of the 2017 Boehringer Ingelheim Oncology Nurse of the Year Award. 

Colleen Campbell received the honour Sunday at the Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology Awards of Excellence Ceremony at the organization's annual conference in Gatinuea, Quebec. 

Campbell, a 35-year nursing veteran, has dedicated her life to nursing and caring for others.

The award recognizes the unique contributions of an oncology nurse who consistently demonstrates the highest level of nursing excellence and leadership.

"It's based on merit. It really validates the work that I've been doing and I'm hugely honoured that my colleagues from across the country would choose me as the winner," said Campbell. 

Campbell was among 19 nominees from across Canada. 

Originally from Scarborough, Campbell obtained a nursing diploma from George Brown College and worked her way to receiving her BScN from Ryerson University and her Master of Nursing from University of Western Ontario.

Upon completing her education, she began her career at the Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre at the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, where she commuted two hours each way over the course of the year. 

Six years later, she calls Barrie her home.

She was recognized for recently implementing an urgent care clinic within the regional cancer program at RVH which saw a 50 percent reduction in visits to the Emergency Room.

"Cancer patients are over represented in the Emergency Department than the average population because they have had very few options when they needed urgent care," Campbell explained. 

"With my colleagues we developed an urgent care program within the cancer centre for people that are on treatment and are having symptoms. The right care at the right time by the right person."

Campbell has spent most of her career in cancer care and has experenced many changes.

She says a cancer diagnosis does not necessarily mean a death sentence today. 

"When we started if you had metastatic, if the cancer had gone to a different part of your body, we may have had one type of cancer treatment to give you and if that didn't work, or you progressed on that, then we had nothing else for you. Those same patients, we now have mutiple lines of treatment.  It's actually a really exciting time and more personalized medicine."

She says she is incredibly privileged to not have been personally touched by cancer in her family but has always had great compassion for those who have.

"It really is being able to help others at horrible time in their lives and being able to help them through that journey and making a bit of a difference and maybe making things a little easier for them. It's incredibly fulfilling work and the team I work with we're all there for the patient - dedicated, patient-centred care," said Campbell. 

"Every time you speak to somebody and you tell them you work in a cancer centre the mood drops. But in actual fact it's a very hopeful place. It's a treatment centre so we're treating people and people are living much longer with cancer and surviving cancer. So the numbers are getting way way better and to be part of that is really great."