MEET LOCAL LEGENDS: By Medical Specialty

"When I first started treating mental illness, the message was there is no cure; no getting better. Patients were warehoused in overcrowded wards. Now we have a total approach to care. Our patients are not crowded into hospitals and confined to a bed. They are up and living a life."

"I was inspired by my father, who was a physician and wonderful role model. His office was in our home, so medicine was a part of my daily life from early childhood, and patients were a part of our extended family. As a matter of fact, you could say that medicine is a family condition, since my brother, husband, son and daughter-in-law are also physicians!"

"For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be involved in healing people. I love the idea of serving the community, and in public health you can help large populations, and get to have a bigger impact than a physician in private practice."

"When I was a child, I had open-heart surgery followed by complications. I was in the hospital for nearly four months, and the thing I remember most is all those people trying to help me. I decided then I'd try to pay them back by helping others like me"

"As physicians, we are in a great position to provide reliable information, and in the process demystify what we do. What better way to educate the community than to share what we know."

"I was raised in a small town with an unreliable doctor, despite the fact that he was need so badly, so promised myself that I could do better taking care of folks. That was when I was about five or six. I always knew what I was meant to do and never wavered. And I was right. I can't imagine a more rewarding career than taking care of cancer patients."

"Radiation oncology is a great field. Cancer patients are wonderful to work with–appreciative and really motivated to get better. I love the patients and the chance to make a difference in their lives."