A longtime UConn Health employee and beloved Cancer Center volunteer, Carol never imagined she would one day become a patient herself. Now a cancer survivor, she continues to give back with compassion, humor, and hope.
Carol Staubley
During National Cancer Survivor Month, UConn Health is celebrating the thousands of individuals whose lives have been touched by cancer and whose stories reflect courage, resilience, and hope.
Earlier this month, the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center recognized that strength during its annual Cancer Survivors Day celebration, bringing together survivors, caregivers, healthcare professionals, volunteers, and community members for a day focused on healing, connection, and hope. The event highlighted the importance of comprehensive survivorship care and the community that supports patients long after treatment ends.
For Carol Staubley, those values are lived every week.
For more than 40 years, Staubley has been a familiar face at UConn Health. After spending 33 years welcoming employees and visitors in Human Resources, she retired in 2014. But retirement didn't last long.
When the Outpatient Pavilion opened in 2015, Staubley returned, not as an employee, but as a volunteer in the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Today, she can often be found making her way through the Cancer Center with a cart stocked with snacks and comfort items, stopping to chat with patients, sharing a laugh, or simply sit and listen.
Known affectionately by staff as the Cancer Center's "mayor" or "ambassador," Carol has a remarkable ability to make people feel welcome.
"Whether she's stopping to say hello, handing out snacks, or simply brightening someone's day, Carol's energy and spirit truly light up everyone she meets," says Dr. Sarah Loschiavo, nursing director. I often see her in the mornings on my way into the outpatient pavilion, where she warmly welcomes patients and families with her genuine kindness and smile."
"I love the people," Staubley said. "I love talking with the patients. If you haven't laughed, you'll cry, so I try to make people smile."
For years, she offered comfort and encouragement to people facing cancer treatment. She never imagined she would one day become one of them.
Earlier this year, a routine mammogram detected a small breast cancer.
Because of her family history, Staubley never missed her annual screenings.
"I'm glad I kept going," she said.
She underwent surgery followed by three weeks of radiation therapy at UConn Health, receiving care from many of the physicians, nurses, therapists, and staff members she had worked alongside for decades.
"They treated me like gold," she said. "Everyone was wonderful, from my nurse navigator, Evelyn Wong to my doctors and surgeons, Dr. Yueming Chang and Dr. Sunny Mitchell, and the radiation team. I've always told people this is the best hospital, and then I got to experience that care myself."
Being a patient gave Staubley a new perspective on the compassion she had witnessed as a volunteer.
"I knew everyone here cared," she said. "But when you're the patient, you feel that kindness in a completely different way."
Today, Staubley is back doing what she loves most, volunteering in the Cancer Center.
Her experience as a cancer survivor has only strengthened the connection she feels with patients.
Now, when she sits beside someone receiving treatment or offers a reassuring smile in the waiting room, she understands their fears in a way few volunteers can.
"I know what it's like to walk through these doors," she said. "If I can make someone smile or help them feel a little less afraid, then I've done something worthwhile."
Her compassion has made a lasting impression on everyone around her.
"Every patient knows Carol. Every volunteer knows Carol. Every employee knows Carol," one Cancer Center staff member said. "She has a way of making everyone feel special."
The feeling is mutual.
"I love the doctors, the nurses, the volunteers, everyone," Staubley said. "This place has always been like family to me."
That same sense of community is at the heart of the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center's survivorship program. During this year's Cancer Survivors Day celebration, survivors and caregivers gathered with physicians, nurses, social workers, volunteers, and supporters to celebrate life beyond cancer and the connections that help make healing possible.
"Survivorship is about so much more than completing treatment," said Loschiavo, "It's about helping people heal physically, emotionally, and spiritually while reminding them they are never alone."
The event featured remarks from Dr. Melissa Henretta, Division Director of Gynecologic Oncology and Chief Quality Officer, who spoke about compassionate cancer care and survivorship. Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center patient Brooke Miller shared her personal journey, while Amanda Thurmon, LCSW, reflected on healing and the importance of ongoing emotional support. Attendees also enjoyed a community brunch, opportunities to connect with fellow survivors and caregivers, and a therapeutic art experience led by Artlighten, providing a creative space for reflection, healing, and self-expression.
The annual event was made possible through the dedication of the Cancer Survivors Day Planning Committee, led by Loschiavo and Kathleen Montalvo, along with the support of UConn Health leadership, providers, staff, volunteers, community partners, and generous donors whose philanthropy helps expand survivorship resources, strengthen patient and family support programs, and create meaningful opportunities for education, wellness, healing, and connection.
For Staubley, survivorship is about more than completing treatment.
It's about giving back.
"I tell everyone this is the best place to come because the people truly care," she said. "I've always believed that. Now I know it from both sides."
As National Cancer Survivor Month comes to a close, Staubley's journey reflects the mission of the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center not only helping patients survive cancer, but supporting them as they heal, find hope, and move forward.
For the countless patients she greets each week, Staubley is far more than a volunteer.
She's a comforting presence, a familiar smile, and living proof that there is hope beyond a cancer diagnosis.
