This is not a toast, not a fanfare, not a prayer of thanks, not a love letter, not a plaque for the wall, not a banner to hang out on the street, not a cross-stitched sampler, but it could be all of these. It's a tribute you nurses in oncology deserve.

We thank you for your tenderness with us patients & survivors. You've held our hands when we've needed the comfort, while you, or someone like you-punctured us to take blood or inject chemo.

You've explained to us what we needed to understand-when our illness was confusion. And you've calmed, quieted us when there were things we didn't need to know. When waiting was our lot, you've waited with us and brought in diversions.

In this exotic world of medicine and disease, you've served as translators, interpreters, and guides, building bridges of understanding to the power-figures of the medical world (physicians). You've given us passports and safe passage through mysterious territory-strange treatments, weird procedures and protocols, overpowering equipment and odd therapies. You've had to explain tests and test results, counts, forms, reports, bills.

You've sensed it when we needed someone to sit beside us or hug us, needed doses of companionship or kind words, as much as we needed pain control or sleeping pills.

You've seemed to know when a touch would be torture or a back-rub would be healing. You knew when it was tough for us to get tough.

You've listened whether you had time or not, and you've listened even if what we said didn't matter or didn't make sense.

You've been honest even when honesty hurt you and us, when all the rest of the world was wrong and fake and foolish. The truth was harsh for you to deliver and hard for us to take.

You've helped us confront reality, even the reality of death, and your presence has brought health, life, victory, encouragement, and power.

On occasion you've talked about faith and God, religion and love and prayer; but with or without words, you've conveyed spiritual strength, resources to help us deal with ultimates.

You've received no fees for befriending our families but you've delivered healing and peace to them, too.

You've helped us patients & survivors to becomes captains of our own healing teams, and we're glad you are our coaches. Thank you, nurses.