This week, a new video is featured on the Johnson & Johnson health channel on YouTube about living with cancer.

The first video in the three-part series tells the story of a social worker and oncologist who found themselves in the roles of patient and caretaker. I thought it provided a unique insight into what it is like to receive a diagnosis of cancer as a professional in the health care field who works with cancer patients every day.

In the videos, Dr. Val Jones (founder of the blog Better Health) talks with a woman named Hester who spent about 15 years as a social worker at a Boston hospital counseling people with cancer. Hester thought she knew what it felt like to face a diagnosis of cancer…that is, until she herself became the patient. The reality of hearing the diagnosis, having to tell her loved ones, and facing treatment gave Hester an entirely different point of view on what it is like to live with cancer.

Her husband, an oncologist who works at the same hospital, developed a profound understanding of what partners and spouses experience when they watch a loved one cope with cancer. Watching this story, I realized that no amount of medical training can prepare you for being on the other side of a cancer diagnosis. However, for these health care professionals who had devoted their working lives to helping people with cancer, the disease touched their lives in an unexpected way and gave them a different perspective on patient care.

Parts Two and Three of the video series are also available to view.