Erika Maritz spent more than two decades working in radiation oncology, caring for patients whose cancer treatments required feeding tubes. Many could no longer eat by mouth.
Eating is more than nourishment — it is connection. It’s how we celebrate, gather, and communicate. When that’s taken away, something deeply human is lost.
One patient in particular changed everything.
Jack was a husband, father, and grandfather living with esophageal cancer. Erika still remembers the day he returned for treatment after having his feeding tube placed. When he saw her, he lifted his shirt. His abdomen was sore, covered in tape, and he said: