Cancer Nation
Leadership Academy Mentors
Who better to shape cancer care than the people living it and the people working within it?
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Cancer Nation
The Cancer Nation Leadership Academy is honored to have Mary S. McCabe, RN, MA and Susan Leigh, BSN, RM serve as Leadership Academy Mentors. They both have extensive knowledge of cancer survivorship within the cancer community. Mary and Susan offer guidance, support and fellowship that has a lasting impact on their mentees.
Mary S. McCabe, RN, MA
Mary S. McCabe, RN, MA, is currently a consultant in Cancer Survivorship and Medical Ethics. She is the past Clinical Director of the Cancer Survivorship Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). From 2003 through 2016, she was responsible for developing and implementing a center-wide program and services for cancer survivors focused on research, clinical care, professional training and education. She was also a faculty member in the Division of Medical Ethics at the Cornell Weill Medical College and Chair of the MSK Ethics Committee.
A graduate of Trinity College, Emory University, and Catholic University, she was previously the nursing director at the Lombardi Cancer Center, Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and held several senior positions at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) before joining MSK. Mary is currently a member of the Survivorship Advisory Committee at the Lombardi Cancer Center, Georgetown University, a member of the boards of Children’s Cancer Cause and the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, and advisor to the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.
She has served on many committees, including the Committee on Improving the Quality of Cancer Care and Guiding Cancer Control: A Path to Transformation at the National Academy of Medicine, the Survivorship Steering Committee of the American Cancer Society, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Survivorship Panel, the NCI Clinical Trials and Translational Research Advisory Committee, and is the past chair of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Survivorship Committee.
Mary is the author of over 130 scientific publications and has received numerous national awards. These include the American Cancer Society Merit Award, Oncology Nursing Society Leadership Award, NIH Outstanding Performance Award, NIH Director’s Award, the Outstanding Alumnae Award, Emory University School of Nursing, and the Leonard Rosen Memorial Research Award given by Children’s Cause for excellence in Cancer Survivorship research. In 2020, she received the Emory University President’s Medal, the highest award given to an Emory alumnus.
Currently, Mary serves as a cancer survivor advisor and navigator for immigration groups working to resettle families in the DC area.
Mary S. McCabe, RN, MA
Mary S. McCabe, RN, MA, is currently a consultant in Cancer Survivorship and Medical Ethics. She is the past Clinical Director of the Cancer Survivorship Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). From 2003 through 2016, she was responsible for developing and implementing a center-wide program and services for cancer survivors focused on research, clinical care, professional training and education. She was also a faculty member in the Division of Medical Ethics at the Cornell Weill Medical College and Chair of the MSK Ethics Committee.
A graduate of Trinity College, Emory University, and Catholic University, she was previously the nursing director at the Lombardi Cancer Center, Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and held several senior positions at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) before joining MSK. Mary is currently a member of the Survivorship Advisory Committee at the Lombardi Cancer Center, Georgetown University, a member of the boards of Children’s Cancer Cause and the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, and advisor to the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.
She has served on many committees, including the Committee on Improving the Quality of Cancer Care and Guiding Cancer Control: A Path to Transformation at the National Academy of Medicine, the Survivorship Steering Committee of the American Cancer Society, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Survivorship Panel, the NCI Clinical Trials and Translational Research Advisory Committee, and is the past chair of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Survivorship Committee.
Mary is the author of over 130 scientific publications and has received numerous national awards. These include the American Cancer Society Merit Award, Oncology Nursing Society Leadership Award, NIH Outstanding Performance Award, NIH Director’s Award, the Outstanding Alumnae Award, Emory University School of Nursing, and the Leonard Rosen Memorial Research Award given by Children’s Cause for excellence in Cancer Survivorship research. In 2020, she received the Emory University President’s Medal, the highest award given to an Emory alumnus.
Currently, Mary serves as a cancer survivor advisor and navigator for immigration groups working to resettle families in the DC area.
Susan Leigh, BSN, RN
After receiving her degree in nursing from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Susan Leigh served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and completed a tour of duty in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, in 1971. Soon after her return from Vietnam, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and was treated with some of the earliest forms of chemotherapy and radiation. This experience influenced her decision to become an oncology nurse.
For the past three decades, Susan has focused her efforts on national advocacy work with special emphasis on long-term and late effects of cancer treatment. Her most cherished involvement has been with the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) as a founding member and past president and now as a member of the steering committee for the Cancer Policy & Advocacy Team (CPAT). She has also been actively involved with many professional organizations, including the Oncology Nursing Society and the National Cancer Institute.
Since 2010, Susan has been working as a survivorship consultant and educator with Arizona Oncology in Tucson. Besides surviving Hodgkin lymphoma, she has also been treated for breast and bladder cancers and is currently dealing with major treatment-related cardiac issues.
Susan Leigh, BSN, RN
After receiving her degree in nursing from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Susan Leigh served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and completed a tour of duty in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, in 1971. Soon after her return from Vietnam, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and was treated with some of the earliest forms of chemotherapy and radiation. This experience influenced her decision to become an oncology nurse.
For the past three decades, Susan has focused her efforts on national advocacy work with special emphasis on long-term and late effects of cancer treatment. Her most cherished involvement has been with the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) as a founding member and past president and now as a member of the steering committee for the Cancer Policy & Advocacy Team (CPAT). She has also been actively involved with many professional organizations, including the Oncology Nursing Society and the National Cancer Institute.
Since 2010, Susan has been working as a survivorship consultant and educator with Arizona Oncology in Tucson. Besides surviving Hodgkin lymphoma, she has also been treated for breast and bladder cancers and is currently dealing with major treatment-related cardiac issues.
