Mildred Pasek Travel Grant Giving Page's Fundraising Page

In the 1990s, Mildred Pasek, RN, OCN, once calmed an elderly, nervous patient at her bedside by fussing over the fact they shared the same first name. The gesture was so genuine that more than 20 years later, the patient's oncologist, David Frank, MD, PhD, still remembered how "the worry and fright just melted away from the patient."

Such reflections of Pasek's kind and caring nature came flooding forth last week when staff learned that the former Dana-Farber nurse had died at age 70. On staff for 29 years - primarily within the Stem Cell Transplant Program - Pasek had just retired in April.

"She had tremendous insight and was dedicated to the mission of DFCI and the transplant program," says Robert Soiffer, MD, chief of Hematologic Malignancies and a colleague of 30 years. "We are all devastated at her untimely passing."

Anne Gross, PhD, RN, senior vice president of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer, says that Pasek "exemplified qualities of a true Dana-Farber nurse - expert oncology nursing skills, a passion for clinical research, and a deep compassion for her patients and colleagues."

This warmth and wit were frequently on display, including in the homemade cakes and cookies Pasek brought to work. Nurse practitioner Amy Joyce, ANP, AOCN, says that "some of my fondest memories with Mildred are when she would personally connect with patients and talk about favorite recipes or vacations."

Besides cooking and travel, she enjoyed cinema, reading, and bird-watching. Catherine Wu, MD, of Hematologic Oncology says Mildred was "at her most creative" when making gifts during the December holidays.

"One year she found an old map of the Longwood area - including the footprint over where the Brigham was," says Wu. "She had these copied and created into beautiful coasters for coworkers."

Cindy Albert, associate director of Cell Therapy Donor Services, remembers how Pasek - then her officemate - delighted in discussing "The Sopranos" when the mob show ruled TV. "We would share laughs over the pathological and destructive nature of mafia life," recalls Albert. "Mildred had a keen appreciation of the irony, hypocrisy and sheer outrageousness of the events portrayed on that show every week."

Pasek's own priorities were far more virtuous.

A New Jersey native, where she attended Piscataway High, Pasek came to Boston for college - earning her undergraduate degree in philosophy at Northeastern and a Master's in health policy at Brandeis. She worked at hospitals in Canada before starting at Dana-Farber in May 1988.

As a nurse in the bone marrow transplant program, Pasek worked with a collaborative team helping patients during the complicated, heavily regulated period from their evaluations through their transplants.

"If the patient is on a clinical trial, then a research nurse is added to take care of the additional responsibilities related to the trial," explains Amy Emmert, vice president of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Cell Therapies. "Mildred first served as a transplant program nurse, and then became a transplant clinical trials nurse. She was very central to DFCI's adult transplant program for 20 years."

Vincent Ho, MD, clinical director of the transplant program, says that Pasek was "a great colleague, and beyond that, an even greater human being. She had a vibrant spirit that was so uniquely hers, and she loved to scoot around in her mini-Cooper."

Pasek's journeys away from Dana-Farber often included trips with transplant research nurse Sue Stephenson, RN, OCN, her friend and colleague of 18 years. "She had wide interests and was always learning," says Stephenson. "Mildred was aware of her need to educate the next generation of transplant staff and often clipped out and gave them 'interesting articles' she found in newspapers and journals."

Funeral services have not been set for Pasek, and colleagues say information on a memorial at Dana-Farber will come later. A member of the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation for many years, she enjoyed attending professional development conferences and contributed to several journal articles related to hematologic malignancies.

"Mildred stayed on the forefront of the science and helped apply those advances to patients every day," says Janet Bagley, RN, MS, director of Nursing and Clinical Services. "The funds raised through the giving page will support oncology nurses who participate in national committees and travel to conferences as Mildred did."

- Saul Wisnia