June 3, 2005

Evergreen resident Debra Thaler-DeMers 

Stanford nurse named OCN Nurse of the Year

By Bea Baechle
Editor

Debra Thaler-DeMers, a cancer survivor and Stanford oncology nurse who lives in Evergreen, recently received the equivalent of an Academy Award in the nursing field.

Debra Thaler-DeMers recently earned the OCN Nurse of the Year award.

The Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation, a subsidiary of the Oncology Nursing Society, recently presented Thaler-DeMers with the OCN Nurse of the Year award. The award is given to one oncology certified nurse each year who has made significant contributions to oncology nursing, oncology service and nursing certification.

“I am so honored to have won this award,” said Thaler-DeMers. “Having been a cancer patient myself, I am eager to improve the quality of life for other cancer patients and their families. You can’t always control the quantity of life, but you can enhance the quality of life.”

Thaler-DeMers received the recognition for her education efforts and lectures around the United States on fertility issues for cancer survivors and the sexual side effects of treatment. She also teaches OCN review classes at the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the Oncology Nursing Society.

Cancer prompts career change
In 1980, ranked second in her law school class, Thaler-DeMers was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She was one of four members of her family with the disease and had no idea of the impact it would make on her life and the lives of future cancer survivors.

“When I was going through treatment, I was introverted and shy and didn’t speak up for myself,” said Thaler-DeMers.

“I want to teach other patients about the team approach to planning and decision making. Patients need to learn to speak up and work with their physicians.”

Three years laters, Thaler-DeMers’ helped care for her younger sister Terri as she encountered the same form of cancer. Three years of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant later, Terri urged her to consider nursing. “She told me that I was very good at taking care of patients and might as well get paid for it,” remembered Thaler-DeMers.

Thaler-DeMers took her sister’s advice and changed careers to become an oncology nurse. She graduated from San Jose State School of Nursing in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

“I always wanted to give something back in return for the care I had received,” noted Thaler-DeMers.

“We are so proud and honored to have Debra as part of our staff,” said Cindy Day, vice president of nursing at Stanford Hospital. “Debra is greatly admired for her work in nursing, teaching, promoting professional development and advocating for patients and families. She is definitely deserving of this award.”

Thaler-DeMers’ passion for teaching parallels her patient advocacy efforts. In addition to teaching an end-of-life nursing education curriculum and courses on biotherapy and chemotherapy at the Center for Education at Stanford, she teaches workshops around the country on sexuality for cancer survivors, pain management, patient advocacy and the long-term and late effect of treatments.

“The advocacy workshops are for teaching patients to stand up for themselves, and in a broader sense, to advocate for quality cancer care for all Americans,” said Thaler-DeMers.

She also publishes articles in nursing journals and co-authored a 35-page pamphlet called “Teamwork: How to Talk to Your Doctor.”

A whitepaper she penned about survivorship sparked the National Cancer Institute to open the Office of Cancer Survivorship to focus on research relating to cancer survivors. National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) played a key role in the first generation of what eventually became the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act.

Cancer Survival Toolbox
As a long-term member of the board of directors of NCCS, the oldest survivor-led advocacy group in the United States, Thaler-DeMers helped change the terminology from “cancer victim” to “cancer survivor.”

She was part of the team that developed the award-winning Cancer Survival Toolbox to teach skills needed to get through cancer, from diagnosis to long-term survivorship or death.

The Cancer Survival Toolbox, a self-learning audio program, was created through a unique collaboration among the NCCS, the Oncology Nursing Society and the Association of Oncology Social Work with an unrestricted educational grant from Genentech, Inc.

Debra Thaler-DeMers meets with one of her cancer patients.

Through years of research and direct service, these leading oncology organizations recognized the need to teach cancer survivors how to seek out information, make the best possible decisions about their care and interact effectively with their health care team, insurers and employers.

They decided the best way to teach these skills was to develop self-learning tools that cancer survivors and their family members and friends could easily understand and use.

While created primarily for people who have been recently diagnosed with cancer, the Toolbox cñelp anyone who is facing hard decisions and changes in life due to cancer. Family members and caregivers can also use the Toolbox on behalf of a child or anyone else affected by cancer.

More than half a million cancer survival toolkits have been distributed over the years, and today you can access the toolkit online at www.cancersurvivaltoolbox.org or by calling NCCS toll free at (877) 622-7937.

The Cancer Survival Toolbox continues to help those touched by cancer through unrestricted educational grants from the Amgen Foundation and the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation.

Life in Evergreen
Thaler-DeMers moved to Evergreen—between a cherry orchard and cow pasture—in December 1983. Over the years she ran a local cancer support group in the medical offices at Aborn and White Roads and worked as a hospice nurse serving the Evergreen area for the now-defunct Visiting Nurses Association.

Although she no longer runs the support group, it still meets locally. She is working with her parish, St. Francis of Assisi, to offer workshops and retreats for people dealing with cancer. She also helps other organizations set up their own support groups.

Thaler-DeMers raised her two children Joshua and Gabrielle in Evergreen. A graduate of Bellarmine Preparatory, Joshua is currently on a leave of absence from Boston University, where he is studying physics, psychology and religion. He used to be one of the pianists for St. Francis of Assisi.

Gabrielle just finished her sophomore year at USC, where she is studying operatic performance. Gabrielle used to sing in the choir at St. Francis and won a Beach Blanket Babylon scholarship to help pay for college.

The Oncology Nursing Society is the largest professional oncology association in the world, with 33,000 registered nurses and other healthcare providers dedicated to excellence in patient care, education, research and administration in oncology nursing. Go to the Web site at www.ons.org for more information.