Childhood Cancer Survivor Becomes A Nurse At The Hospital That Treated Her

When 24-year-old Montana Brown started working at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta on Sept. 18, she probably felt right at home. You see, the newest registered nurse at the hospital spent a lot of time there during her childhood as a cancer patient.

Diagnosed at age 2 with a rare form of connective tissue cancer called Rabdomyosarcoma, Brown was treated at CHOA’s Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center for one year, according to the Thomasville Times-Enterprise.

After successful treatment, she went on to lead a normal childhood until 13 years later when her cancer returned during her freshman year of high school.

“I had just tried out for my high school cheerleading team,” she told ABC News. “I actually ran a mile while I had cancer and had no idea. …There weren’t symptoms but my mom and dad could tell that something was different about me and they knew that something was a little off.”

The 15-year-old returned to Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center for treatments. She said the nurses during that time “were extremely loving and caring and compassionate.”

Brown went into remission once again but never forgot her time at the hospital. She felt inspired to go to college to study pediatric oncology so she could return the care she received during her illnesses.

After studying to become a pediatric oncology nurse, Brown got a job at the very hospital that treated her.

When her first day on the job arrived, she couldn’t contain her joy and shared her excitement on Facebook.

Brown said she felt her experience as a childhood cancer survivor would serve her and her patients well when she became a nurse.

“It’s kind of crazy how full circle it’s come so far,” she told ABC News.

She continued, “I really wanted to be that person where when I said, ‘Hey, I totally understand. This is where I was. This is where I am now.’ That me and my patients would form a bond. I’m not walking through the doors as a patient anymore. I am walking through as a staff member.”

Montana Brown has an incredible story and it’s surely one her young patients fighting childhood cancer themselves will appreciate.