Improving patients' lives is her passion
She'll treat you like family, so get used to calling her by her nickname: Muff
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"My dad was a physician, and made the decision to participate in a clinical research trial that I feel prolonged his life," Muff, as she prefers to be called, said. "It gave our whole family hope that he was participating in a clinical trial. It also gave me a career focus in life at a very young age."
Muff graduated from Seattle University in 1983 and has spent most of her career at the Hutchinson Center working with transplant patients. Earlier this year, she received a master's degree from the University of Washington, yet another step in a lifelong dream to contribute to oncology research.
As a nurse practitioner, she is now blending patient care with research as part of her duties with LTFU. A big part of her job is working with patients who are involved in clinical research protocols. Many of these protocols, she said, involve newer therapies for graft-versus-host-disease.
"I'm very devoted to improving the quality of life for patients who have undergone a transplant," she said. "Furthering the science is important, but it is not enough to cure patients of their disease. It's important to help them regain the lives they put on hold when they came to the Hutchinson Center for treatment."
As nurse practitioner and clinical researcher, she keeps close tabs on her patients, making sure they're receiving all of the treatment and tests that are detailed in research studies.
"A nurse practitioner is more involved in patient care," she said. They order diagnostic tests, write prescriptions, and manage the day-to-day care of patients. "And in a research setting, we're involved at every stage of care, before and after a transplant."
When she is not working, Muff enjoys spending time with her husband, Dan, and two children, Maureen and Riley. They all enjoy waterskiing, even on cold days. Muff also likes to garden and run-with a full marathon and several half-marathons to her name.
But her favorite race remains the Shore Run/Walk, which benefits the Hutchinson Center.
As the mother of a son with Down syndrome, she also dedicates a portion of her time to speaking with young families who have children with disabilities.
"It's important to help them adjust and find joy in raising their special family member," she said.
It's that kind of care and concern that she also brings to her own patients.
"I treat every patient as if they were members of my own family," she said.
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