WSVN — Cancer patients often face a long and challenging journey. Now there’s a person whose job it is to help you through the medical maze. 7’s Christine Cruz shows us how a Nurse Navigator guides one through the process.
Stan and Ellen Blumin love laughing with their cockatiel Angel, but the laughter turned to fear last year when Ellen was diagnosed with cancer.
Ellen Blumin: “It was like, ‘Oh my God. OK, now what do I do?'”
She faced a tough road ahead, weeks of radiation and chemotherapy. Ellen felt completely overwhelmed.
Ellen Blumin: “Cancer and treatment take over your life.”
She started making calls to set up appointments but wasn’t getting anywhere fast.
Ellen Blumin: “When you’re diagnosed with cancer, everybody says I want it taken care of immediately. It doesn’t work that way.”
That’s where Rose Ronay came to the rescue. She’s a Nurse Navigator. It’s her job to guide patients through the entire process at the Memorial Cancer Institute.
Rose Ronay: “We help navigate them through the system, so to speak.”
The navigator has the initial contact with the patient when they’re first diagnosed. They help ease their fears and answer some difficult questions.
Rose Ronay: “Are they going to die? What’s going to happen to them? What’s going to happen to their family members?”
The navigator also becomes their main point of contact.
Rose Ronay: “So any questions about treatment, appointments, anything at all that’s related to their diagnosis.”
When Ellen couldn’t get in to see her doctor for weeks, she asked Rose for help.
Ellen Blumin: “And she said, ‘I have an appointment tomorrow, can you come in?”
Each patient receives their own customized binder with important phone numbers and contacts.
Rose Ronay: “It has the doctors, it has the social workers, it has the nutritionist.”
The navigator gives patients a tour of the cancer center and introduces them to staff who will be part of their care. Another great benefit, they help sort through the headaches of medical insurance.
Ellen Blumin: “Having somebody who’s your advocate is priceless.”
Ellen has finished her treatment and feels great. She says having someone like Rose by your side is like having a little angel on your shoulder.
Ellen Blumin: “For someone who is not medically savvy, does not have a good support system, it’s an absolute necessity.”
Navigators can also collect your medical records and have them ready for appointments.