This project aims to share the identity, passion and devotion of staff at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center to gain a deeper understanding of the people who work to help patients.

“Who is the most influential person in your life?”

“My mother. She has always been very supportive. She has always had my back. There is nothing that a mother wouldn’t do for her child. I know that other people would probably mention Bill Gates or some other person who has influenced them to be who they are, but honestly, its been my mother.”

“If she has taught you one thing what would it be?”

“To be Tangi, to be Tanjameika. And to live up to my own expectations, not anyone else’s. Because nobody else’s expectations matter. Its your expectations that matter”

“If I could give my daughter advice I would tell her: Don’t let your struggle define what you can accomplish. Don’t let what you’re feeling at any moment diminsh what you know you can accomplish. You have to push forward. The constant thing about life is that it doesn’t stop. Don’t let your struggle define your future, don’t let it control your future and don’t take life too seriously.”

“There are so many moments in the hospital that make me feel happy. When I see a patient who is really stiff and not able to move, or just in a space where they’re really tight, by the end of the song I see them open up. Those are happy moments…seeing them light up. I’m touched by them.”

“The single greatest achievement of my life is my family. Nothing is more important. They are the source of all of my strength and that’s something I remember in my leadership role.

I know how I feel about my family and my instinct is that many of the people who work at Lombardi feel the same about their families. We need to always realize there’s a difference between your job and your life. When it’s ideal there’s a symbiosis; a synergy. That balance can help but at the end of the day, its family.

Professionally, I have three areas. I love being a doctor. I love taking care of patients. I love making their lives better. It’s what I trained to do and it’s something I never want to give up. Also, I’m very proud of having had a role in the development of immunotherapy to treat cancer, which is basically treating your body’s immune system so it can destroy cancer. Lastly, I am proud of the fact that in the two leadership roles I’ve had in my career- one at Fox Chase Cancer Center and one here at Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center- I’ve helped the organizations grow in such a way that allowed them to make greater contributions to the greater good. I’m a lucky guy.”

“What makes me joyful is making others happy and helping people. My job is so rewarding. Something as simple as educating people about how to eat to make themselves feel better, even for a few days, can make a huge difference in a person’s quality of life. That joy really drives me.”

“What is your favorite childhood memory?”

“I have a terrible memory. My friends and family tease me about it all of the time! When I was four or five I made a homemade, from scratch, black walnut cake with my dad. Black walnuts are a pain- they have a hide, you dry them out, crack the nut and then dig out the meat. It’s a really intensive process and I think either the shell or the hide can leave a stain. It’s really tough work! To get enough walnut for the cake was an enormous task… and I don’t remember it at all! My dad loves to tease me about this because we went through all of this work for my birthday cake and I don’t remember it.”

“I would love to have dinner with someone from the prehistoric era. I think our history starts with the written word and we don’t know a lot about the humans that existed before us. So, I would love to have a conversation with a caveman to peek into the lives of people who’s words weren’t recorded to see what their lives were like.”

“Have you ever seen karma at work in your life?”

“How would you define karma?”

“I would say what goes around comes around…”

“I think of something good when I think of karma. I’m thinking when Nevin [Bossart] was a patient spending long weeks in the hospital and our social worker suggested that he have a hobby. His paintings absolutely transformed the hallway. Patients went to his room to see what he was painting. He created a sense of community that continues because he moved from being someone in treatment to someone who helps people in treatment. Now, people come up to his painting table and he offers to have them paint. Sometimes they say, “I can’t I have neuropathy,” and he says, “Well I have it too from treatment but when I paint I don’t feel any pain,” and so they would sit down and paint with him. So in terms of what goes around comes around he was really able to use his experience to help others. He went full circle.”

“I received the best piece of advice from my best friend’s father who was a superintendent. He was giving us advice when we were riding in the back seat. We were either in middle school or high school and he said, “You need to be the best at what you do, it doesn’t matter what you do.” His son became a podiatrist so I’m not sure what that means.”

“What is the funniest thing you have heard a child say?”

“I was with Ivy, my granddaughter, this weekend and I was wearing earrings that had turquoise glass beads and spirals on them. She said, “Grandma Lauren you’re wearing lollipop earrings! I love your lollipop earrings, they are so beautiful!”

“What the nurses and the staff do here is amazing and it’s incredibly hard work. But what I like best is being able to make the environment more nurturing for them so they can refill the well and not burn out. We have debriefing sessions. We have Friday night wine and cheese. I care deeply for my staff and I care for the work that they do. In order for us to do that we have to take care of ourselves. I think being able to role model that and being able to care for the staff is probably the most important thing that I do.”

“If I could have lunch with anyone living it would be Oprah Winfrey. I admire her mission to teach the world that the impossible is possible and her tenacity to say, I’m an African American woman, I grew up poor, I’ve worked hard and now not only am I one of the richest women in the world I am one of the most influential women in the world because I make a difference in people’s lives. That’s why I would want to meet her.”

“It’s very important to know who you are and stand by that even if people are preaching something that is in opposition to what you believe in. Staying true to oneself is the best piece of advice I have been given.”

“I do stretching with nurses and staff and just now one of the nurses said, “I love working on Thursdays! I love working on Thursdays! I love working on Thursdays!” My favorite thing when I’m doing a relaxation with patients is to just let them continue relaxing as I go, leaving them in a happy, peaceful state amongst all the craziness of the hospital.”

“Stay focused, keep praying and never feel like you can’t accomplish something because at the end of the day you’ll accomplish a lot.”

“It is awesome and inspiring to work with families. We are working during a very intimate, difficult part of their lives. Working with them is a real privilege so that is always rewarding. I think we always learn something from our patients and families, and can reflect back on that. We also have a great group of professionals that we work with here in the hospital. People are generally kind to each other and respectful so that makes it a very rewarding place to work.”

“My favorite piece of advice is: everybody has a story. Every single person has something going on, no matter how big or small. It’s important to be open; to listen and share. That way you can learn more about them and in turn more about yourself.”

“Well my mother passed away. It will be two years in August and the last thing she said to me- and this is something I tell people- she said, “Now, Nevin. Always be honest, always trust in God, and try to do one good thing for somebody everyday.” I think that’s the best advice anyone could ever have. I’ve related that to people and a lot of people have said well that just sums it all up. When it comes to advice people have all sorts of ideas about how people should live and what they should do. I think if you can live those three things you’re doing pretty well. My mother was a Girl Scout leader. She used to take me to the meetings when I was small, but I don’t remember. She changed the Girl Scout motto from “To help others” to “Help one person everyday” just for her little troop. Her name was Helen and she was the kindest person I’ve ever known.”