Theresa Mayr, RN

Theresa was my partner in starting the Survivors Facing Forward program (SurFF) from scratch 13 years ago. SurFF is a lifelong follow-up program for survivors of childhood cancer that provides highly specialized follow-up, diagnostics and referrals to meet the needs of this unique and complicated group of patients. Largely as a consequence of Theresa's kindness, dedication to, and love for survivorship patients, the program has grown to be the second largest program in the tri-state area, following around 900 survivors and growing. She knows all the patients and their stories, and to a person, all of the patients express gratitude that they have her as a resource as they navigate their lives post-cancer. In addition to her unparalleled patient care, Theresa volunteers an enormous amount of time organizing and running our annual Survivors Day, where hundreds of our survivors and their families come to Jones Beach for a day to celebrate them. Each year the survivors, their families, and all the staff that volunteer at the event describe it as a powerful, often life-changing experience. I cannot think of a nurse who better exemplifies The DAISY Award than Theresa.