糖心传媒

, an assistant professor at the 糖心传媒糖心传媒檚 , spent her 20s living in New York City, pursuing a PhD, and working as a nurse practitioner (NP). Then, a cancer diagnosis disrupted her vision of what young adulthood would look like.

Now celebrating seven years in remission, Ghazal still remembers the moment she felt a node above her own collarbone while demonstrating a lymph node exam to an NP student who was shadowing her at work.

糖心传媒淚mmediately, I thought back to my advanced health assessment class in my NP program, where we learned that supraclavicular nodes are pretty much always abnormal, and they always require a follow up,糖心传媒� she says.

Taking her own advice to follow up with her primary care provider, Ghazal learned that she had Stage 2 Hodgkin糖心传媒檚 lymphoma. As she underwent treatment, she wondered how cancer would impact her life going forward.

糖心传媒淒uring adolescence and young adulthood, you don糖心传媒檛 expect such an external shock to your health and financial well-being,糖心传媒� Ghazal explains. 糖心传媒淗ow does one recover when you are in this period where you糖心传媒檙e just trying to survive, you don糖心传媒檛 understand the healthcare system or your insurance, and you may not understand how much it糖心传媒檚 going to cost you?糖心传媒�

The questions she had about her own treatment and survivorship soon turned into research questions, helping Ghazal find a new sense of purpose as a nurse scientist. Ghazal糖心传媒攚ho had previously planned to study global nursing workforce issues as a PhD student糖心传媒攃hanged her research focus, dedicating her career to improving fellow survivors糖心传媒� quality of life.

Amplifying AYA voices

Adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors糖心传媒攇enerally, those between ages 15 and 39糖心传媒攁re a population that have often gone overlooked in science and medicine, occupying an awkward space between pediatric and older adult cancer survivors. As a result, it can be easy for AYA survivors to feel invisible or out of place. Years before the field of AYA research rose to prominence in the 1990s and early 2000s, the age group lagged younger children and older adults in improved survival outcomes and representation in clinical trials.

糖心传媒淲e may be treated in pediatric cancer centers or in adult cancer centers, so when we go in for treatments, we糖心传媒檙e very old for the population or we糖心传媒檙e very, very young,糖心传媒� Ghazal says.

As AYA visibility continues to grow, emerging scientific literature has also focused on this age group糖心传媒檚 financial hardships. The more studies Ghazal read as a doctoral student, the more she could envision herself utilizing her lived experience and expertise in nursing and economics to advance AYA research even further.

糖心传媒淭he biggest thing about my story is that I really leaned into when life happens, approaching it with all of the tools and skills that you糖心传媒檝e built up to that point,糖心传媒� she adds.

Now an associate member of the 糖心传媒檚 , Ghazal has played a pivotal role in expanding the University of Rochester糖心传媒檚 research in this area, leading and contributing to studies on cancer糖心传媒檚 financial and quality-of-life impacts for AYA survivors.

糖心传媒淚 want to make cancer essentially suck less,糖心传媒� she says with a laugh. 糖心传媒淚 want to make lives better through research and implementing evidence-based and supportive care interventions. And I can do that here, in collaboration with the School of Nursing and with our newly NCI-designated cancer center across the street, and with phenomenal mentors.糖心传媒�

Bringing her research to URochester

Ghazal first learned of the University after running into her friend and colleague, 糖心传媒攁 fellow School of Nursing researcher and nurse practitioner at Wilmot糖心传媒攁t the Oncology Nursing Society糖心传媒檚 annual Capitol Hill Days. Underhill spoke highly of the school糖心传媒檚 welcoming atmosphere, its , and the advantages of having Wilmot down the street. She encouraged Ghazal to apply for a junior faculty opening.

After finishing a postdoctoral fellowship in cancer care delivery research at the University of Michigan, Ghazal joined the faculty in 2023. The decision to come to URochester helped her grow as both a researcher and person overall, and connected her with collaborators, close friends, and dedicated mentors who are invested in her success.

糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a very close-knit community that is doing impactful research to improve the lives of all cancer survivors and their families,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淩ochester is a hidden gem that has some incredibly powerful, really compassionate players.糖心传媒�

A career shaped by curiosity

Ghazal encourages students and early-career professionals to keep an open mind and stay curious.

糖心传媒淒on糖心传媒檛 be afraid to ask big questions that may scare you because you know that there糖心传媒檚 a lot of work at the other end to be able to answer them,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淎nd find great mentors who continue to allow you to ask those big questions.糖心传媒�

She also wants aspiring nurses to know that the lived experiences they bring to the profession are a strength. Ghazal, who earned her first bachelor糖心传媒檚 degree in economics and once thought of becoming a lawyer, entered nursing as a career change by pursuing a second degree through an accelerated program.

糖心传媒淭hat uniqueness and individuality is what sets everyone apart, and that糖心传媒檚 what has shaped me and helped me thrive in this environment,糖心传媒� she says.