Mary Smith, CRNP

“I’m Mary Smith and I’m a nurse practitioner at Southern Cancer Center since 2019.

I’m married and I have four grown children and I actually have two grandchildren, so I am very busy with family. I like to bake cookies. My specialty cookie that I bake is butterscotch walnut. I’ve literally been baking that since high school, so I can just do it in my sleep. My husband and I got married in 2014. We actually met at the Scottish Society, so I’m very involved in that. I’ve always loved the Scottish heritage and I found out that there was a Scottish Society in Mobile and got very into it, and now we’re on the board and very involved in that.

People never believe me when I tell them my husband’s name is John Smith. We’re John and Mary Smith, we’re the generic couple. So, I make a joke when I meet my patients and I say that ‘I’m Mary Smith, I’m the generic nurse practitioner’, because I hope that kind of helps them remember, ‘Oh yeah, that’s the generic one, okay’.

I lost both of my parents from cancer, so for me it’s personal. Seeing my parents go through cancer and eventually losing their battles with it, it really endeared me to knowing what they went through, the families. Going through that, going through the process and knowing the pain and the uncertainty and the waiting, and knowing how hard that is. It made all of the difference to me to be able to relate to my patients.

Family is a huge part of it. That’s your support system, and there are those out there that don’t really have family. We’re there for them every step of the way. If I had to give advice to someone who’s going through chemo and it’s very difficult, the struggle is so hard, just keep going. I’m driven to get up and come to work everyday, just that I will make a difference. I pray every morning, ‘Please God, let me do some good.’”