CANCER CENTER SUPPORT GROUPS

COURAGE COMPANIONS One-on-one emotional support

for patients and caregivers

(205) 996-5364

BRAIN BUDDIES For patients with malignant brain

tumors and their families

Cathie Robinson (205) 934-2921

NEW BEGINNINGS For newly diagnosed breast cancer patients

(205) 801-8266 or 1 (800) 333-6543

US TOO Prostate cancer support group

for men and their families

John David Farris (205) 326-9439

ORTHOPEDIC ONCOLOGY SUPPORT GROUP

Michelle Gray (205) 930-8564

CANSURVIVE GYN CANCER SUPPORT GROUP

For ovarian, cervical and

endometrial cancer patients

Margaret Keeton (205) 930-8676

LEUKEMIA AND LYMPHOMA SOCIETY PATIENT AND FAMILY

SUPPORT GROUP Alma Del Grosso (205) 934-0337

GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP For anyone who has lost a loved one

Jim Elrod (205) 682-9441

RADIATION ONCOLOGY SUPPORT GROUP

Karen Shrout (205) 975-5628

YOUNG BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS

SUPPORT GROUP For those diagnosed before the age of 45

Hillary Parmer (205) 930-8870

u A b C o m P r e H e N S I V e C A N C e r C e N T e r 19

change here. If you don’t appreciate change, this

is the wrong environment for you.”

Ms. Towns returned to work at UAB in

2000 and has been with the hospital ever since.

She currently works as the nurse manager

for UAB Women and Infants Services in the

Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the UAB

Comprehensive Cancer Center.

A NEw DIRECtION Ms. Towns’s entry into oncology came as a

fortuitous encounter. “Initially, I was going to

do my preceptorship in postpartum care,” she

recalls. “I was there for about two weeks, and the

nurse decided she was leaving, so I was without

a preceptor.” During her time as a patient-care

technician in UAB’s women’s division, Ms.

Towns had occasionally been pulled into the

oncology unit. That was where she found a new

preceptor, and that was where she ultimately

started her oncology career in 1988.

She has seen firsthand the unique and often

complex needs of gynecological cancer patients.

“I think their emotional need can often be a

little deeper,” says Ms. Towns. “Cancer is fright-

ening for a lot of patients in the community. It

just changes the family dynamic, and they need

so much more emotional support.”

Ms. Towns also has found a special connec-

tion providing nursing care for other women.

“I have left gynecology a couple of times over

the years, and I had the opportunity to provide

care for men,” she says. “I don’t mind that—I

actually enjoy it—but my heart belongs here in

Women and Infants Services.”

A LOVE Of tEAChINg Over the past two decades, Ms. Towns has

found that nursing allows her to combine her

love for teaching with her desire to help oth-

ers. One of the biggest joys in her career, she

says, is the work and teaching she does with

her staff—and that her crowning moment as a

nurse was when her unit was awarded its first

Clinical Excellence Award from UAB. “I guess

because of the teacher in me, it is not something

I wanted for myself, but I wanted it for my staff.

I wanted to have one of them up there,” she says.

“I was proud to have one of my nurses’ accom-

plishments recognized.”

Ms. Towns names her staff as her favorite

thing about being a nurse. “We have done really

well. Our patient satisfaction scores are consis-

tently in the upper percentiles, and that’s some-

thing I wanted to see for years,” she says. “It’s

more than just moving to the new hospital and

having such a nice facility. I think it’s the group

that we have. They’re a really great group—we

collaborate really well.”

When not caring for patients, Ms. Towns

still spends time close to the Cancer Center as

a member of the Interdisciplinary Oncology

Committee. She also has served on several of

the center’s task forces. “It’s fantastic what the

Cancer Center is doing,” she says.

As important as patient care and service

are to her, however, Ms. Towns still sees fam-

ily time as an ultimate priority. She enjoys

spending time with her daughter and relaxing

at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. “I love

the hiking section. I think it just gives me the

opportunity to not only enjoy nature, but also to

think and just have some quiet time,” she says.

nurse profile

CONtINUE tOwARD BEINg

A CENtER Of EXCELLENCE.” – toni towns

“At UAB thERE Is A DRIVE tO