Compassion fatigue, the profound physical and emotional exhaustion nurses can experience, erodes the very tenets of our caregiving role: compassion, hope and empathy. In the radiology world we have many repeat clients, the ones we see week after week possibly for years and then they disappear from our service. We may find out long after that they have passed away and there is no opportunity for closure. Perhaps we work with a client base that we already know will pass away while in our care. As time goes on, nurses gradually can become unable to participate in their professional and personal lives the way they used to. Without even realizing it, the nurse has moved through burn out and into compassion fatigue. Awareness and self-diagnosis are key to beginning the journey to recovery. Practical strategies can lead to enhanced self-care and a decrease in the debilitating effects of compassion fatigue. Systemic ways of addressing the issues can also be facilitated, potentially preventing other staff from heading down the dark path of compassion fatigue