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A practicing radiation oncologist for more than two decades, Ann Maners' enthusiasm for the field is just as strong now as when she started.

"There's always something going on, always something new," said Maners. "Every patient is an interesting challenge."

Despite ending up in the profession more by providence than design, Maners has grown only more interested in her work since her commitment to CARTI/St. Vincent.

A career in oncology wasn't always in her sights.

"I was determined to go into pathology," she said, "very, very determined."

It takes something big to break Ann Maners' determination.

Something like love.

Maners, a 1980 graduate of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, did a pathology rotation and a couple of years of residency when she met Alex Pappas, MD, who was four years older and also a pathology resident at the time. He is now a board-certified pathologist and former professor at UAMS. When she and Pappas started getting serious, plans changed.

"I realized there was no way we could both be pathologists because it would be so difficult to get jobs in the same area at the same time. It just wouldn't be very easy to coordinate," she said.

So Maners started looking at other options.

"It was one of those really serendipitous things," she said. "I just stumbled into it, kind of this out-of-the-way department that nobody knew much about. One of the faculty members had rented a beach house from my grandparents, so he knew me and my family and we got to talking and the next thing you know I'm a radiation oncology resident. I don't think there's anything I could've possibly done that I would've liked better."

Maners and Pappas were both offered positions at UAMS and they completed their residencies in 1985. Their family circle includes Athena, who studies at the University of Michigan, Christopher, enrolled at the University of the Visual Arts in Philadelphia, and a nine-year-old rescue dog, Ginger.

Born in Rock Hill, SC, Maners' family is among the founders of both the state and the American Revolution. Along with this pioneering mentality, medicine found its way into their family ranks. Joining seven uncles and 11 first cousins, she represents the fourth generation of physicians.

She was inspired by her maternal grandfather, William B. Ward, MD, a Vanderbilt Medical School graduate and the first board-certified surgeon in York County, SC. Prior to establishing a practice, he served with General Pershing during the Mexican-Pancho Villa episode and was a World War I field surgeon in France with the U.S. Army.

Maners long ago embraced her new state, but most of her roots are still tied to South Carolina. Her siblings Cindy and Mike, parents Jimmy and Mary, and six nephews still reside there.

Even though she enjoys reading, work takes center stage these days, not leaving much downtime for hobbies or to decompress. "My husband has enough hobbies for both of us," she joked, which opened up discussion about her work, a topic the low-key and humble Maners is very comfortable talking about. She has extensive experience treating prostate cancer patients with brachytherapy as well as external beam (intensity modulated radiation therapy).

To avoid being consumed by work, her tactic is to physically put some distance between her and the workplace. One of the few times she doesn't think about work is when she's on the road.

When she finds herself approaching the tipping point, she has found the best medicine is to pack the bags and travel with her husband.

So where have they been? Throw out a name and most likely they've touched foot there. Panama, France, Singapore, Costa Rica ... the list goes on.

"Travel's important to me. It helps recharge batteries, be better at work, particularly in a field where you treat patients with cancer," Maners said. CARTI has high success rates, but working with cancer patients is never easy, she admitted. "I think since a lot of times it's not a happy ending for folks, you've got to be there to support them and to give them the best treatment possible without letting it overwhelm you."

She insisted that despite their well-stamped passports, it doesn't take an international flight to make a trip worthwhile.

"We don't have to go to Paris to have a good time. We can go to Branson, Eureka Springs or Hot Springs. One of the most fun things we did was take a tour through Texas, hitting Fort Worth, down into Big Bend country, just driving around and visiting small town America, little local museums, the Odessa Meteor, seeing the jackrabbits, and you think: does life get any better? I think you could safely say we are easily amused," joked Maners.

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