At 19 years old, Danielle Simon was navigating more than most people her age.

While attending X-ray school, she was also helping care for her two younger sisters and supporting her mother through treatment for lung cancer. Staying close to home was essential, and the Margaret Mary Cancer Center became a trusted source of both care and comfort for her family.

As Danielle spent time in the cancer center, she found herself drawn not only to the field of radiation therapy, but to the compassion surrounding it. The kindness and reassurance offered by the staff left a lasting impression. When her mother passed away in August of 2008, that experience shaped a life-changing decision. “On that day,” Danielle said, “I decided, ‘I’m going to go back to school for radiation therapy.’”

From the start, her goal was to return to the very place that had supported her family. “That close-knit community feel is what I try to bring to my job now,” Danielle said.

“We’re neighbors. We’re friends. I remember what it was like to sit on the other side, so I try to build connections and help make a frightening time feel a little less overwhelming.”

Before Danielle could step into her role as a radiation therapist, however, she returned to the cancer center once again, this time alongside her grandmother, who was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2009.

“Learning about my grandmother’s diagnosis was especially difficult after just losing my mom,” Danielle said. “She went through surgery and chemo, and many of the same caregivers cared for her. Thankfully, her outcome was very different.”

Those treatment days became meaningful in their own way. Danielle remembers spending hours with her grandmother in what she describes as a warm, welcoming environment.

“Margaret Mary was wonderful,” her grandmother said. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. The staff truly became our family.”

Today, that family connection continues — only now Danielle is on the other side of care, supporting patients through their own cancer journeys. Her grandmother couldn’t be prouder.

“She’s very good at what she does and at making her patients feel comfortable,” she said. “I’m so blessed to be here, to see my granddaughters grow up and to spend time with my great-grandsons.”