Dr. Rachel Freedman

Three colleagues of oncology nurse Deborah Diprete recognized her potential as an extraordinary healer. 

Deborah DiPrete, RN, epitomizes the essence of a phenomenal oncology infusion nurse through her unwavering dedication, exceptional care and genuine compassion for her patients. Her commitment extends far beyond administering treatments; she embodies the true essence of patient advocacy and holistic care.

Deborah's exceptional quality lies in her genuine concern for each patient's well-being. Her compassionate nature transcends conventional nursing duties. She invests time to truly understand her patients, ensuring their physical and emotional needs are met. Her dedication is palpable in the seamless coordination of comprehensive care, from infusion treatments to post-infusion support.

What distinguishes Deborah is her remarkable teamwork and collaboration. She transcends boundaries by actively engaging with the entire care team. Her willingness to walk over from the infusion area to discuss cases exemplifies her commitment to comprehensive patient care. Her tireless efforts in communicating and coordinating care plans demonstrate her proactive approach in ensuring patients receive optimal support.

Deborah's thoughtfulness extends to the minutest details, ensuring patients are comfortable throughout their treatment journey. Her proactive nature is evident in anticipating and addressing potential challenges, going above and beyond to ensure patients feel supported and cared for. Having personally experienced Deborah's exceptional care when caring for my mother-in-law, her impact is profound. She orchestrates a symphony of care, liaising with various specialists, ensuring families are informed and alleviating concerns through her unwavering support.

In essence, Deborah DiPreteisn't just an oncology infusion nurse: she is a beacon of compassion and excellence in the healthcare realm. Her dedication, empathy and comprehensive approach define her as a truly exceptional caregiver, leaving an indelible mark on the lives of those she touches.

An Experienced, Compassionate, Incredible Leader

Deborah (Deb) DiPrete, RN, is an absolutely wonderful oncology infusion nurse and leader in our Dana-Farber Cancer Institute program. She is calm, collected, respectful, organized, kind, compassionate and is always willing to go the extra mile (or the extra 100 miles) to get patients what they need and to support her fellow nurses and doctors as she does so.

She often serves as “charge” nurse on our infusion floor and is the one receiving all triage requests and needs. In this role, she is so committed to accommodating the patient and care team. She understands the importance of this, the desire to keep patients out of the emergency room whenever possible and is always creative about making this happen.

She is one of our most experienced infusion nurses and is a constant resource for all of us when it comes to treatment-related issues and patient care. She is known to mentor formally and informally most/many of the nurses on the floor and is the go-to nurse when it comes to managing reactions, understanding options for patient triage and accommodating our patients’ needs.

Our patients also seek her out, consistently requesting her presence or care as they are receiving treatments for their cancers.

Deb is an outstanding communicator as well, facilitating interactions with the care team whenever possible. She will often come over to our provider workroom to discuss a challenging patient situation, to troubleshoot how we might address it, and to come up with a solution.

These attributes, coupled with her unparalleled clinical acumen and kind nature, make her an unstoppable nurse and nurse leader. We are so lucky to have Deb advocating for and treating our patients.

I would like to nominate Deborah Diprete, RN, for the 2024 CURE Extraordinary Healer award. I am a breast medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston and have worked with Deb in her role as a senior infusion nurse for the past 20 years.

Our oncology group specializes in the care of young women with breast cancer, and Deb and I have shared many very young patients over the years, often young mothers struggling with the need to care for their breast cancer and care for their families.

Deb exudes immense confidence and deep compassion for our patients. She immediately puts patients at ease, caring for our young women as if they were her own friends or family. She is especially sensitive to the unique needs of our youngest patients, often anticipating their worries or concerns and coordinating the multidisciplinary care they need for optimal clinical and psychosocial outcomes. If a patient is struggling in any way, she always finds me to talk about how to provide the best support and care for them.

Sometimes receiving chemotherapy can be quite scary, especially if there is an infusion reaction or other unexpected event. Deb always remains calm and confident, providing immense emotional support for our patients while also leading the effort to resolve the events as soon as possible. Patients feel enormous trust in Deb and her guidance.

She also mentors new infusion nurses at DFCI, and I am so grateful that they are being trained by a master clinician in the best possible care for patients with cancer. The field of breast oncology has evolved considerably over the past years, with many new treatments entering our portfolio, and Deb is always up to date on the most cutting-edge therapies, often sharing with me her impression of tolerability and toxicity from our newest agents. I have so much I learn from Deb, and I share this information when I am teaching MD providers about the care of patients with breast cancer. In Deb’s book, the patients always come first, and she will always go the extra mile to help them do their best.

Medical oncology depends tremendously on teamwork and having the best players on your team to care for our patients. Deb is an extraordinary teammate, and I am so lucky to be on the team with her.

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Articles

Deborah DiPrete, RN, exemplifies exceptional oncology infusion nursing through her dedication, compassion, and patient advocacy. Her holistic approach ensures comprehensive care, addressing both physical and emotional needs. She excels in teamwork, actively engaging with care teams to optimize patient support. As a charge nurse, she skillfully manages triage and mentors colleagues, enhancing patient care and team dynamics. Her ability to anticipate patient needs and provide emotional support during challenging treatments fosters trust and confidence. Deborah's leadership and clinical acumen make her an invaluable asset to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

An oncology nurse from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute exudes the definition of an extraordinary healer, according to three colleagues. 

An Oncology Nurse Who Goes Above and Beyond 

Dr. Nancy U. Lin is most deserving of this award. It is hard to find the words to describe how much she has done for the metastatic breast cancer community, including patients, caregivers, researchers and clinicians. She also does everything with grace, humility, generosity and kind- ness, and is a true mensch and friend in every aspect of what she has done and continues to do.

Dr. Rachel Freedman. Photo provided by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

To give you a sense of what she has accomplished to date: Dr. Lin is an international expert in the care of patients with metastatic breast cancer. She has led many high-impact, practice-changing clinical trials, runs the metastatic disease program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and is a staunch supporter and advocate for developing and nurturing optimal ways of caring for patients. She leads our central nervous system metastatic program at Dana-Farber and is a mentor to many on how to build programs, run trials, think about research and deliver the highest-quality care to patients with this disease.

She built the EMBRACE program (Ending Metastatic Breast Cancer for Everyone) at our center from the ground up. EMBRACE is both a clinical and research program for patients with metastatic breast cancer. Patients enrolled to EMBRACE are offered a unique package of services, support groups, research opportunities and educational forums and are a part of a large registry that allows us to track patients for prescreening of studies, possible opportunities for clinical trials and understanding patterns of care and tumor genomics.

Nancy continues to push the limits of what is available to our patients, is constantly evolving and innovating around caring for patients with metastatic breast cancer and is the most collegial, kind, supportive colleague you could hope for. Her work really deserves this special recognition. I truly believe there is no one on the planet doing more for patients with metastatic breast cancer than Dr. Nancy Lin. Thank you for considering her for this award.

A colleague recognizes the generosity, humility and grace of a metastatic breast cancer expert who has led many practice-changing trials and programs to help as many patients as she can.

Dr. Rachel Freedman

An Oncology Nurse Who Goes Above and Beyond

Trailblazer, Advocate, Innovator and Clinician For Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer

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