Radiation Oncology at the Robert Boissoneault Oncology Institute (RBOI)

Jessica always knew she wanted a career in the medical field, but the path to where she is today—working in radiation oncology at the Robert Boissoneault Oncology Institute (RBOI)—was anything but straightforward.

“I actually flunked out of nursing school when I was 19,” Jessica admits. “I didn’t prioritize my studies; I thought my chance was gone.”

Instead, she became a medical assistant, working in ophthalmology, dermatology and primary care. Then, in 2016, after her grandfather passed in hospice, nursing once again tugged at her heart. 

“I saw how the nurses cared for him, and I knew it’s what I needed to do,” she says.

At 32, with three young children, Jessica returned to school, graduating in 2019 just before the coronavirus pandemic. 

“My unit became a COVID unit, and I was doing CPR multiple times a shift,” she says. “It was emotionally and physically exhausting. As a new nurse, it was especially rough.”

After a year in the hospital, she moved to home health. After two and a half years, she moved into radiation oncology.

“I initially thought that God was leading me to be a hospice nurse, but I felt like something was missing,” Jessica says, explaining that a friend later suggested radiation oncology and mentioned an open position. 

Now at RBOI, Jessica guides patients through their cancer diagnoses and treatments. “The initial appointment is always the hardest—they’re scared, overwhelmed. We walk them through every step, so they know they’re not alone.”

Many assume radiation oncology is just treatments and machines, but Jessica says it’s much more.

“We become a support system. We educate, comfort and celebrate victories. Some patients are stoic at first, but it’s just fear. Once we start talking to them, they come out of their shells,” she says.

“Some days I’m crying with patients terrified of their diagnosis, the unknown or dealing with the side effects of radiation. Other days, I’m crying with patients who come back months or years later just to say hi, thank you, or to tell us their scan is clean and they’re cancer free.”

“This is what I was meant for.”