Valerie Harper to Keynote Extraordinary Healer Award Ceremony Honoring Oncoloy Nurses

Valerie Harper, the actress best known as Rhoda Morgenstern on the 1970s sitcoms "Rhoda" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming award ceremony honoring oncology nurses, CURETM magazine announced today. Harper, who is living with terminal cancer, will address attendees of the Oncology Nursing Society's 40th Annual Congress on April 23 in Orlando, Fla.

Harper knows first-hand the important role oncology nurses play in the lives of people with cancer. Nominated for a Tony Award in 2010, the actress was diagnosed a year earlier with lung cancer, the number one cancer killer among women. After living cancer-free for four years, she learned in 2013 that her cancer had spread to the meninges, the membranes surrounding the brain. Since then, targeted therapy has kept the disease at bay, enabling her to advocate for more cancer research funding.

At the April 23 ceremony announcing the winner of the 2015 Extraordinary Healer Award for Oncology Nursing essay contest, Harper will recognize the three Healer Award finalists, Laura Vasquez of Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, Beverly Moser of Rose Quarter Compass Oncology in Portland, Ore., and Elmeria Teffeteller of The University of Tennessee Medical Center Cancer Institute, one of whom will be selected as the 2015 honoree.

"We are thrilled that Valerie Harper will join us in celebrating the efforts of oncology nurses around the world," said Mike Hennessy Jr., president of CURE Media Group. "Valerie's compassion and interminable spirit will be inspirational for all attending the conference, as will the amazing efforts of the nurses who dedicate their lives to helping others overcome this terrible disease.

"In the 2015 competition, we heard from patients, their families and caregivers about a special oncology nurse from the U.S. or abroad who went above and beyond to help each of them navigate the roller coaster ride that is cancer," Hennessy said.

Oncology nursing is a challenging field that requires the blending of specialized medical knowledge with a desire to support patients and families impacted by cancer, he said. The complexities of evolving cancer treatments compel oncology nurses to remain well-educated, independent thinkers while also providing comfort, education and advocacy for patients undergoing complicated and sometimes long-term treatments for the disease.

Since the inception of the Extraordinary Healer Award for Oncology Nursing in 2007, more than 1,000 nurses have been nominated. The finalists and essayists honored over the past eight years have included men and women, adults and children, representing a variety of cancer centers and hospitals in 18 different states.

About CURE Magazine and CURE Media Group
CURE Media Group's flagship product, CURE magazine, is the indispensable guide to every stage of the cancer experience. With nearly 1 million readers, CURE is the largest consumer publication in the United States focused entirely on cancer, with broad distribution to cancer patients, cancer centers, and advocacy groups. Through the magazine, live meetings, a resource guide for the newly diagnosed, the Extraordinary Healer Award for Oncology Nursing, and other books and online tools, CURE Media Group combines Science and humanity to make cancer understandable. CURE Media Group is part of the Plainsboro, N.J.-based Michael J. Hennessy Associates, Inc. (MJH) family of businesses, which includes the acclaimed OncLive (http://www.onclive.com) platform of resources for the practicing oncologist, as well as Oncology Nursing News for the nurse oncologist (http://www.nursing.onclive.com). For more information, visit http://www.curetoday.com or http://www.mjhassoc.com.