“My team never let my diagnosis become the center of my identity.”

— Emily Bartash, Hodgkin Lymphoma Cancer Survivor

At 22 years old, Emily Bartash was preparing for her future—not cancer.

A lifelong Mainer from Standish and a recent University of Southern Maine graduate, Emily had been working as an Emergency Medical Technician with her sights set on becoming a Physician Assistant. Then, in August 2025, she was diagnosed with nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma.

Suddenly, her future looked very different.

There were questions about treatment, fertility preservation, and what life would look like after cancer. But from the moment Emily became a patient at New England Cancer Specialists, she says she never felt like she was facing those questions alone.

“There was always someone there to answer my questions, advocate for me, and help me take the next step,” Emily says.

Under the care of Dr. Boland, Emily began treatment in October. As she navigated the months that followed, she found that her care team offered her something just as important as medical expertise: the feeling that she was still Emily—not simply a cancer patient.

“What truly meant the most to me was that my team never let my diagnosis become the center of my identity,” she says.

Dr. Boland, in particular, made a lasting impression.

“He went above and beyond to get to know me, not just as a patient, but as a person,” Emily says. “He cared about my goals and interests and took the time to learn about my life outside of cancer. He made it clear I was still a person with a life and future beyond my diagnosis.”

Seeing Healthcare From the Other Side

Emily’s experience has also changed the way she thinks about the career she has chosen.

Before her diagnosis, she was accustomed to being the person caring for patients as an EMT. Suddenly, she found herself on the other side—needing care herself.

That experience gave her a new perspective on what patients need from the people taking care of them.

“I learned firsthand how much it matters to have providers who make you feel heard, supported, and cared for, especially during the most uncertain moments of your life,” Emily says.

Her experience at NECS only strengthened her desire to become a Physician Assistant.

The providers who cared for her have become people she looks up to, and their example has helped shape the kind of provider she hopes to become.

“I hope to carry these same qualities into my own practice,” she says. “I hope to give my future patients the same level of compassion, support, and care they gave me.”

And while cancer became an unexpected part of her story at 22, it didn’t become the story of who she is.

She is still looking ahead to the future she had imagined for herself—only now, she carries with her a deeper understanding of what it means to care for someone when they need it most.