Susan Feild
January 2026
Susan
Feild
,
BSN, RN, CN-BN
Breast Center in the Cancer Institute
University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center
Towson
,
MD
United States
On my hardest days, Susan was and continues to be my rock.
I’ve been a cancer patient at St. Joes since 2017. I was a young mother of two children, a working respiratory therapist, and a wife. I had been diagnosed and treated for cervical cancer in 2015, and now I was facing a second cancer diagnosis, this time it was breast cancer. I have been traveling to Towson from Hanover, PA, for almost 9 years because the care, the compassion, and the connection have not wavered with Dr. R and his Nurse Navigator, Susan Feild.
Beyond surgery, patients are left with a large hole as a cancer patient, to navigate all the stages of grief, processing fears, occasional irrational thoughts, and all the "What ifs." Thank you to St. Joe's and the Breast Center for recognizing the need for a collaborative team of experts, including a Breast Navigator. At that very first appointment, once Dr. R had done his part, Susan sat across from me with a box of tissues and open arms. She embraced me in the warmest hug and said, “What can I answer for you?”
Those words will never leave my memory. Susan was along for my journey each and every step and could answer any question I had, big or small. She was always available by email or phone and never left me alone with my worries. If she didn’t have the answer, she would work to find it for me. As I went through my treatment of a bilateral mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation, and all of the treatments in between, Susan remained by my side. She was the calm in my storm, the reason in my irrational thoughts, and just the warm embrace on my hardest days.
After my year of treatment, Susan asked me to volunteer with the SOS mentorship program, which I’ve volunteered with for the past 8 years. We have continued to stay in touch. Susan finds me when I’m in the office to see Dr. R and still makes me feel like I’m the only patient at that moment. She has a gift that not many healthcare workers maintain after years of patient care.
Recently, I chose to complete my reconstructive surgery, but I needed to go outside of UMMS because of availability. I shared this news with Susan, and she emailed me the night before my surgery and again postoperatively. You cannot assign a value to this asset in your program. On my hardest days, Susan was and continues to be my rock. I wanted to make sure the world knows just how special Susan is, and having a Nurse Navigator is truly invaluable. Kudos to St. Joes for maintaining a professional and life-changing center.
Thank you for making me feel like a person and not just a patient. Thank you, Dr. R, for saving my life. I do not know what tomorrow will bring in this wild journey, but I do know that as long as Susan is in my corner, I will always have the support I need.
Beyond surgery, patients are left with a large hole as a cancer patient, to navigate all the stages of grief, processing fears, occasional irrational thoughts, and all the "What ifs." Thank you to St. Joe's and the Breast Center for recognizing the need for a collaborative team of experts, including a Breast Navigator. At that very first appointment, once Dr. R had done his part, Susan sat across from me with a box of tissues and open arms. She embraced me in the warmest hug and said, “What can I answer for you?”
Those words will never leave my memory. Susan was along for my journey each and every step and could answer any question I had, big or small. She was always available by email or phone and never left me alone with my worries. If she didn’t have the answer, she would work to find it for me. As I went through my treatment of a bilateral mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation, and all of the treatments in between, Susan remained by my side. She was the calm in my storm, the reason in my irrational thoughts, and just the warm embrace on my hardest days.
After my year of treatment, Susan asked me to volunteer with the SOS mentorship program, which I’ve volunteered with for the past 8 years. We have continued to stay in touch. Susan finds me when I’m in the office to see Dr. R and still makes me feel like I’m the only patient at that moment. She has a gift that not many healthcare workers maintain after years of patient care.
Recently, I chose to complete my reconstructive surgery, but I needed to go outside of UMMS because of availability. I shared this news with Susan, and she emailed me the night before my surgery and again postoperatively. You cannot assign a value to this asset in your program. On my hardest days, Susan was and continues to be my rock. I wanted to make sure the world knows just how special Susan is, and having a Nurse Navigator is truly invaluable. Kudos to St. Joes for maintaining a professional and life-changing center.
Thank you for making me feel like a person and not just a patient. Thank you, Dr. R, for saving my life. I do not know what tomorrow will bring in this wild journey, but I do know that as long as Susan is in my corner, I will always have the support I need.