Grandmother’s cancer inspired Markey nurse to pursue medicine

When Jessica Basham was in kindergarten, her grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer. At this young age, Basham remembers telling her mother that she wanted to find the cure for cancer. Now, Basham is a registered nurse on the bone marrow transplant unit at the UK Markey Cancer Center.

She originally applied to UK to study psychology, but she was soon attracted to the hands-on work of nursing instead. She wanted to become a nurse so that she could make a difference in the lives of her patients.

Watch Jessica Basham explain why she decided to become a nurse and how she is continually inspired by her patients at the UK Markey Cancer Center.