Jeanie Green is an oncology nurse at the Tennessee Urology Association in Maryville, Tennessee. She performs the usual duties in the office - assisting the physicians, working with the patients, new and returning. But Jeanie has taken her duties to the next level. She has made herself available to "my guys", as she says, 24 hours a day. When she meets a new patient, she gives them her cell phone number. This isn't limited to just the patients. She also makes a visit to each man's home for the sole purpose of meeting their family and making a deeper connection. Jeanie understands that family support, or the lack thereof, can sometimes make the difference between life and death. She knows that when one person in a family gets cancer, it affects every single member of that family. That would be enough to fill Jeanie's days and then some, but she 's gone even further. In 2003, she started a support group for men with prostate cancer and their families in Maryville at the local hospital. In order to encourage them to attend, she regularly worked a telephone contact list resulting in an active and engaged group of over 55 men today. As if that wasn't enough, she recently decided that neighboring Sevier County needed a group of their own. So, once a month, she travels there to lead a brand-new group. She is also involved in fund-raising events every year and organizes free PSA screenings. She likes to say that she doesn't know everything, but she'll find out. She's been know to search the internet for solutions to problems for one patient, only to share that with others who didn't even know to ask. Jeanie has dedicated her life to serving men afflicted with prostate cancer. She ministers to them and their families as if they were her own. In fact, many of the men I've spoken to say she's adopted them. The reassurance and comfort she's given them, when they've been cured and when they haven't, is immeasurable. It's telling that the nickname her guys have given her is "PC Angel". Jeanie Green is one of a kind. |