Nurse Builds Prostate Cancer Support Community Through Compassion

To the Extraordinary Healer Award Selection Committee: It is with deep respect and sincere gratitude that I nominate Tracy Peck, RN, BSN, for this award. She is an extraordinary oncology nurse whose compassion, dedication and unwavering commitment to her patients exemplify the very highest standards of health care. The sign outside her office reads, "Today, we get to help people!"

Peck is the nurse director of the Advanced Prostate Cancer Clinic (APCC) at Urology Specialists of the Carolinas in Charlotte, North Carolina. She also heads up the in-office pharmacy. Oncology nursing calls for a rare combination of clinical expertise, emotional strength and patience. Peck unfailingly rises to this challenge with remarkable grace on a daily basis. Every day, she cares for patients facing fear, pain and uncertainty, and she does so with a presence that brings comfort, reassurance and dignity. Her ability to balance medical excellence with genuine compassion is both rare and deeply impactful.

One of the things that sets Peck apart is how she sees and treats each patient as a whole person. She listens attentively, communicates with honesty and warmth, and ensures that patients and families feel supported, informed and respected throughout their care. She takes the time to explain treatments, answer questions and offer encouragement, even when her own workload is demanding. Often, she establishes herself as a trusted presence during one of the most difficult periods of patients' lives.

Peck is also an exceptional colleague and advocate. She works collaboratively with the health care team, communicates effectively and consistently prioritizes patient-centered care. Her professionalism, reliability and leadership elevate those around her and contribute to a culture of excellence within the oncology unit.

Here is what the head of the APCC, Blair Townsend, M.D., M.B.A., had to say about Peck:

"Tracy possesses a knowledge base comparable to that of a medical provider, with deep understanding of advanced prostate cancer, evolving treatment strategies and patient-centered care. Physician leaders routinely rely on her clinical judgment, and patients trust her guidance implicitly. Her tireless dedication has been instrumental in nearly doubling APCC volume to almost 625 patients in the last three years, while also helping develop and implement innovative service and treatment lines that have expanded both access and quality of care. Beyond these measurable outcomes, she creates an extraordinary culture, one defined by collaboration, compassion and unwavering advocacy for patients. Looking ahead, Tracy has tremendous potential to extend her impact further and is ideally suited to help launch an Advanced Bladder Cancer Clinic, among others, where her vision and leadership would undoubtedly drive similar success."

The emotional toll of oncology care can be immense, yet Peck continues to give of herself with empathy, resilience and unwavering dedication. Her work extends far beyond clinical responsibilities; she offers hope, comfort and humanity when it is needed most. Patients and families often remember her not just for the care she provided, but for how she made them feel: safe, heard and valued.

Never one to be satisfied with the status quo and always looking to improve the patient experience, Peck sought and found a way to create a community of and for prostate cancer patients. Near the end of one of my regularly scheduled, every-90-day appointments in April 2023 (we'd known each other for about five years at the time), she asked me a question.

She asked if I thought it would be nice for men exiting the APCC after their office visit, often after just learning they have stage four prostate cancer, to have someone to speak with who has experience dealing with the same diagnosis.

I told her that I thought it was a good idea. A few moments later, she repeated the question, and I responded by observing that apparently she wasn't asking for my opinion, to which she agreed, smiling and saying no. I smiled back and said yes, as long as she thought I was the right person.

So since then, I sit two days a week in the elevator lobby waiting for patients to approach me. I do not approach them because no one wants to be approached by a stranger who asks about their stage four prostate cancer diagnosis. To encourage patients to come up to me, Peck and the care team have notes describing me pasted on the check-in and check-out counters. A copy of the note is also included in patients' take-home folders. They tell patients about Elevator Bob (Peck started calling me Elevator Bob because I sit out in the elevator lobby), letting them know that I am a friend and patient of theirs, am stage four and in my 12th year of dealing with it. They say I am happy to listen, share my story, offer hope, knowledge that they are not alone, compassion, information and love. Peck and a member of the team also outfitted me with a shirt, tumbler and notebook, all emblazoned with "Elevator Bob," to encourage patients to approach me.

This community initiative has spread well beyond the USOC community. Peck was instrumental in coordinating a few local television interviews that included the two of us in fall 2023. That exposure expanded in 2025 with 25 or 30 TV and radio interviews, four segments on CURE, two podcasts, an hour on three PBS radio stations, speaking opportunities with groups of 1,400 and 250, and too many smaller ones to count. To say she is helping create a community is an understatement. Her efforts are resulting in the spreading of seeds far and wide across the country, some of which will likely germinate and blossom into prostate cancer communities of their own.

Tracy Peck embodies the spirit and purpose of this award. Her compassion, integrity and tireless advocacy have made a meaningful difference in the lives of countless individuals, many of whom she will never meet or know. I can think of no one more deserving of this recognition, and I can't wait to see what direction Peck takes the office to next as she reimagines what is possible. Thank you for considering this sincere nomination of a nurse who does so much, so often, for so many, and who looks forward to helping people every day.

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