Patricia Mullinix, RN, Reveals How Cancer Changed her Life—and her Approach to Medicine

    LEXINGTON, KY, August 30, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ --The Friday before she was scheduled for orientation at Eastern State Hospital as a psychiatric bedside nurse, Patricia Mullinix, RN, went in for a routine mammogram. Though such a procedure would keep anyone on edge, Ms. Mullinix' family history of cancer made her especially nervous—and with good cause. On the day of her orientation, Ms. Mullinix received the dreaded phone call. Her biopsy had returned positive and Ms. Mullinix' worst suspicions were confirmed—she had cancer. By the end of 2007, Ms. Mullinix had undergone a double mastectomy and several rounds of chemotherapy. Genetic testing performed in 2009 indicated that she was a gene carrier for the cancer, and she made the difficult decision to go under the knife once again to remove her ovaries, fallopian tubes and uterus in a drastic hysterectomy to prevent the return of tumors elsewhere in her body. Today, Ms. Mullinix is happy to report that she is cancer-free, healthy and happy. Moreover, she is not regretful of the experience—rather, she asserts that it has enriched her experience in the healthcare profession, having given her a first-hand account of what it truly means to be both the patient and the caregiver. This June, she sat with Cambridge Who's Who to discuss her career in nursing, and how it has been impacted by her experiences as a cancer survivor.

Inspired to enter the healthcare profession at an early age by her grandmother, a nurse and caregiver to her local community, Ms. Mullinix attended school for nursing in 1973. She earned an associate degree in nursing from Eastern Kentucky University and later a bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Kentucky. Of course, the journey into healthcare was not an easy one and Ms. Mullinix faced several obstacles. She remembered, "When I decided to become a nurse—I am the oldest of five children and when I told my parents, they said 'Well there [are] four others that we have to take care of in order to get them through school, so you're going to have to go out and get a job.' So it was the part-time jobs after school, the summer work. Then it was the case of not being a strong nursing student. It actually took me three programs and repeated classes in order to get through school. It was a challenge. At one point, I was told that I wouldn't be a nurse...Obviously, after 30-some odd years later of being in nursing, I did disprove them."

Over the course of the next 34 years, Ms. Mullinix worked at Central Baptist Hospital, where she served in the orthopedics, neurological surgery and medical-surgical divisions. Becoming proficient in such specialized fields, she also learned how to catch the curveballs of her profession. "When you meet somebody in the hospital, they are not at their best. Their emotions are all over the place...Their family [members] are in distress. So you [have] to meet the needs of all those patients and try to straighten out some of these feelings that they have going on." This sense of empathy, paired with her honed communication skills, would later serve her well at the Eastern State Hospital, a psychiatric facility. They could not, however, fully prepare her for the ordeal that she was about to experience.

"I didn't know how to be a patient," she shared. "I didn't know how to handle [illness] from the emotional side of it...It took my prayer support groups. It took my husband and family. It took a nurse who, literally, had to sit down with me and tell me that it was okay for me to let go of my nursing [mindset of having] to be in control." Meanwhile, Ms. Mullinix was surrounded with a positive and strong network of colleagues, friends and family. In fact, as she recalled of the administrators at Eastern State upon hearing the medical news of their latest employee, "They didn't bat an eye, told me it was no problem and worked around the whole thing." Through her surgery, chemotherapy and later, rehabilitation, Ms. Mullinix remained gainfully employed. She was able to manage the facility operations and work as a recovery coach for patients, as well as teach them how to work with medical equipment.

"It was quite an experience," said Ms. Mullinix. "And I think that taught me a lot about illness from the patient's viewpoint. I'd always looked at it as a professional, but I had not been as involved in such an emotional situation. That's taught me an awful lot about how to relate better to my patients. I am a cancer survivor."

Ms. Mullinix' experiences have also influenced her political standings, especially as they pertain to President Obama's healthcare policy. "I'll use myself as an example," she said. "I'm 61 years old; I've had a double bilateral mastectomy for cancer. I'm looking at it as, okay, what's he going to say to me? 'You don't qualify for this or that—you've already had cancer; your life isn't worth it.' That's what I'm hearing from colleagues, that every procedure would be presented to the board for approval. Honestly, I hope it doesn't come down to that. Everybody should receive the same amount of healthcare. This should be a physician-patient decision."

In such a tumultuous political climate, Ms. Mullinix states: "[Nursing] is not the way it was when I first started. If you choose to go into it now, have an open mind, be assertive and have a solid background in your core classes." With a strong academic background, she notes, emerging healthcare professionals will be able to better market their services within hospital and clinical settings. Also, they will be able to handle the many responsibilities that were once allotted to doctors. No matter what changes about nursing, or healthcare in general, Ms. Mullinix believes in one constant. And this is a philosophy that she has adopted not only as a nurse, but also as a patient: "Treat them with kindness. Treat them with respect and do not be afraid to ask how they're doing, how their family is doing."

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