Topic:  Living in Hope with Myeloma …Now What?

Guest Speaker:  Dr. Martha E. Francis, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, AOCNP

Martha was born in London, Canada and completed her undergraduate nursing education at the University of Toronto in 1994. She immigrated to the United States shortly thereafter and began her nursing career on an inpatient oncology unit in St. Petersburg, Florida. She received her Master’s degree and nurse practitioner certification from the University of Tampa in 2003, before relocating to Baltimore MD in 2006. Martha has been working as an NP in radiation oncology at the University of Maryland since 2006. In July 2021, Martha completed her PhD in nursing with her dissertation focus on communication and palliative care for couples living with advanced cancer.

In her role as an oncology nurse and then nurse practitioner, Martha always focused her care delivery on the family unit opposed to the patient alone. This perspective led her to pursue a doctorate degree to improve understanding about why couples struggle to communicate openly together about emotionally vulnerable topics while living with cancer. Martha has built her practice on the development of strong relationships with families and healthcare providers to utilize her extraordinary mix of scientific knowledge, interpersonal skills, and practice experience to advocate for oncology care that is in line with families’ personal goals and wishes during cancer.

Despite her clinical and research interests in palliative and end of life care, Martha strongly emphasizes that her ultimate pursuit is to impart meaningful change in how oncology care is delivered, to assist families in living well during the cancer experience.

Please contact Robin Tuohy ([email protected]) for virtual meeting details and link.