“I love the people I work with,” says MaryEllen "Mel" Lenz, RN, AAS, who admits being “in shock” when she received the Nurse of the Month award. “I love my job, the people I work with and I love the patients.”

Some cancer patients have to undergo extensive surgery that dramatically alters their appearance, often causing great emotional distress. Thanks to the work of Dr. Vladimir Frias, Director of Maxillofacial Prosthetics, they can look like themselves again.

Oncology nursing provides the opportunity and privilege to interact with patients and their families at a difficult time in their lives. We are caregivers, cheerleaders, confidants and, in many cases, close friends.

“We’ve come a long way,” he says. "That’s thanks to our phenomenal team, with dedicated surgical technicians and nurses.”

"When I was in medical school, I found that my interest really lay in neurology. I didn't know what part of neurology exactly until I did my rotation in neuro-oncology and everything just clicked."

Day in and day out, the nurses at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center provide outstanding care to their patients, doing their best to lift spirits and make things a little brighter for people going through a difficult time.

When asked what interests her more about her work – being a clinician or a researcher – Dr. Griffiths answers that both do.

APPs are essential members of your clinical team at Roswell Park. How are they trained, and what types of things are they qualified to do?

“I experienced the wonderful feeling of being able to provide real hope to people suffering from cancer.”