Spirituality, Faith and Breast Cancer: Finding Your Path and Inner Strength

Rev. Petra Thombs is the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Central Nassau. She is also serving as the Community Minister for the Ramapough Munsee Lenape Community Center in Mahwah, New Jersey. Petra is of African American, Cherokee, and Caribe Indian heritage. She has been an advocate for the rights of Indigenous peoples and nations. A graduate from Union Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity, having majored in Church History, her focus is addressing the Doctrine of Discovery as it has fostered racism and extreme marginalization for Indigenous nations and communities globally.

Prior to coming to Union, Petra retired from her career in the NYC Dept of Education. A lifelong poet, she writes about historical, cultural, religious, and firsthand experiences, expressing the perspectives of marginalized communities. Petra is married to Bernard, has two sons, Benjamin and Matthew, Finn, a grandson, and a cat named Esteban.

Fr. Gregory Rannazzisi is a priest of the Diocese of Rockville Centre and is the Pastor of St. Gerard Majella Parish in Port Jefferson Station and Infant Jesus Parish in Port Jefferson. Previously, he was Associate Pastor at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Massapequa. He has served also as Vice Rector of the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington and Director of Diaconate Formation for the Diocese, as Catholic Chaplain at Hofstra University, and as Associate Pastor at St. Brigid Parish in Westbury. Born and raised on Long Island, Fr. Greg received his Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Theology from Fordham University. After seminary formation at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Bishop William Murphy ordained Fr. Greg in June 2009. He holds a Licentiate in Dogmatic Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. Since 2010, Fr. Greg has been an Associate Member of the Diocesan Ecumenical and Interreligious Commission as the Diocesan Liaison with Long Island’s Muslim and Eastern Religion populations.

Dana Ribeiro Miller M.Div., MSW,  LCSW, ACHP-SW Palliative Social Worker Clinical Instructor of Medicine, NYU Long Island School of Medicine is a licensed clinical social worker. She holds a master’s degree in Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work, where she was a recipient of the Dr. Maurice V. Russell Fellowship for Medical Social Work, a master’s degree in Divinity from Union Theological Seminary, and a bachelor’s of science from Rutgers University. She completed her subspecialty Palliative Care training via the Post Graduate Fellowship in Palliative Care at the Mt. Sinai-Beth Israel Division of Palliative Medicine. In addition to staffing our clinical team, Dana is a Clinical Instructor of Medicine for the Long Island School of Medicine where she holds the position of Assistant Course Director for the Learning Communities Longitudinal Thread, focusing on Social Sciences, Humanities, Ethics and Professionalism. Dana has an interest in academic teaching and formation of clinicians at the undergraduate, graduate, and post graduate levels of education and is a frequent lecturer for NYU Langone Hospital Long Island Medical Education. She has published in the bioethics and social work literature and also lectures regionally and nationally for organizations such as the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network. In addition, Dana is a member of the NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island Medical Ethics Workgroup and the Spiritual Care Services Advisory Committee.