This month we take time to recognize and thank our military veterans for keeping us safe both at home and abroad.

He won’t admit it, but Philip McCarthy, MD, is in the business of saving lives. He gives his patients hope; he gives families hope. He’s a world-renowned physician who has dedicated his career, his passion and his life to providing advanced stem cell transplants to hematological cancer patients.

Cancer can change your whole life. Suddenly, everything is different – your relationships, your outlook on life, your emotions, your daily routine.

I’ve never taken my career choice for granted. I always knew that I wanted to take care of people during times when they couldn’t care for themselves. Seeing how this has manifested in my life has been a true blessing.

Life has a funny way of leading you down the right path, despite the plans you have for yourself. That path led me to a very special friendship.

Christine Pieri graduated from nursing school on a Saturday and started work at Roswell Park the following Monday. In those early days, “I didn’t know much about oncology,” she says, “but once I got here, that became my passion."

Where she once cared for active-duty troops, families and retired members of the armed forces, Dr. Bell now supports patients in waging war against cancer at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Prospective employers expressed doubt that she was really a nurse or emphasized that even if she were hired, she would not receive the same pay as the white nurses and would have to eat alone, in the kitchen. Those roadblocks were no match for the determination of Eva Bateman.

In 1990, during my nursing clinical rotation here at Roswell Park, I declared, “This is it. This is where I want to work.” Nearly 28 years later, I am still here and still look forward to coming to work every day.