From Caregiver To Patient, LU Nursing Graduate Receives Cancer Treatment At Her Hospital
Starting a job fresh out of graduation can be one of the most joyous things a college graduate will ever experience.
It’s the end of one chapter and the start of another. For many students, a job after graduation represents a goal completed, and a big one at that.
But for Liberty graduate Cassandra Harre, who obtained her nursing degree in December 2021, her new job as a nurse at Duke University Hospital was quickly overshadowed by a crushing diagnosis: breast cancer.
On Jan. 24, 2022, the day before she planned to move states to start a new job, her doctor gave her the news that she had a primary angiosarcoma, a rare and malignant type of cancer.
When Harre received her diagnosis, she felt stressed out and couldn’t sleep. The only remedy that began to turn the tide was prayer.
“I would just toss and turn all night, and I remember I made a Facebook post letting people know I haven’t been sleeping well and if they could pray for me that would be great. And then for the first time in a couple weeks, I had an amazing night’s sleep,” Harre said.
Her love of her job kept her going, even as she works in the same hospital that she receives treatments in. She considers it her dream job. She particularly enjoys the nursing work week schedule. Even though she works long, 12-hour shifts, three days a week, she loves having the rest of the week off to relax.
Working at Duke may have been a surprise — Harre originally planned to move to Texas before she received her diagnosis — but she said it has been a blessing, nonetheless.
“It’s been awesome so far,” Harre said about working at Duke. “It’s been an amazing opportunity. I’ve been learning a lot and connecting with a lot of people.”
Overall, Harre said her diagnosis has pushed her closer to the Lord. Even though this is one of the most trying times in her life, she said she has never trusted the Lord so much. She knows that cancer exists because the world is fallen, but that even though the world is fallen, God is still in control.
“The Lord just took care of things in ways I couldn’t have imagined, and I was just like, ‘Wow.’ I always knew the power of prayer, but it’s just engraved in me now,” Harre said.
To other students or families dealing with cancer, Harre encouraged them to remember that God doesn’t make mistakes and that their prayers are heard.
“Have hope and never give up. If you’re younger, it’s so unusual (to be sick), and I know it sounds cliché, but God has plans with everything that he does, and he doesn’t make mistakes,” Harre stated. “Right now, it’s technically the most painful time of my life, but because I can’t do anything else but put my trust in the Lord … it’s like a whole new awakening. There will be pain, there will be tears, there will be crying, but he’ll get you through it.”
One of the Bible verses that Harre holds close to her heart is 1 Peter 1:6-7. The verse describes rejoicing in times of suffering. Harre explained that trials are just a part of life, believing that one’s faith is tested because of its value.
Harre said the best way her Liberty family can help her is to pray.
“Keep on praying because that, honestly, is the most important thing,” Harre said. “It’s what’s gotten me this far, and it’s what’ll get me through the rest of my life.”
Bear is a feature reporter.