As we continue to honor the incredible dedication and skills of our talented and compassionate Navvisa certified oncology nurses during National Oncology Nursing Month, we wish to spotlight ANGELA LAFFAN, AOCNP.
MEET ANGELA LAFFAN
Angela Laffan has worked in nursing for 34 years and a large percent of that time has been spent as an oncology nurse practitioner. For the past 8 years, Angela has worked in the GI Oncology practice at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center and has been instrumental in building the organization’s survivorship care model. Angela received her Masters of Science in Nursing from University of California, San Francisco in 2003.
What aspect of oncology nursing does Angela find most interesting?
Angela’s particular area of interest in oncology nursing is with cancer survivorship. In her long career, Angela has been witness to the increases in life expectancies that advances in cancer treatment have provided, but she has also observed the lack of resources and support available to individuals who are lucky enough to become “cancer survivors.” Because of this, Angela has dedicated several recent years to building UCSF’s survivorship care model. Given UCSF’s prestige and influence within the U.S. healthcare system, it’s safe to say that Angela’s work has had a far-reaching impact on cancer survivors throughout the entire country, regardless of where their care is taking place.
Angela has also always had a passion for and a strong belief in the importance of holistic healing. Earlier in her career, Angela was a board member for the Foundation for Integrative Oncology, a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to providing scholarship funding to cancer patients interested in pursuing integrative modalities, such as nutrition and exercise consultations, guided imagery, acupuncture, and therapeutic massage, but who were prevented from doing so due to financial constraints.
At Navvisa, we are honored to have Angela as part of our team and to benefit from her expertise in both cancer survivorship and integrative medicine as our team serves cancer patients and their families.
What drew Angela to oncology nursing?
As Angela will share,
“Oncology nursing chose me! My first year as a nurse, I rotated to an oncology hematology service and I fell in love with the intimate relationships that I was able to foster while caring for patients with cancer and their families.”
And what is a “fun fact” many people might not know?
Angela is originally from Australia and still has a wonderful and warm Australian accent!
