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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Navigator leads patient in cancer fight 11/23/07   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, November 23, 2007 Patients, doctors sold on value of similar navigator programs By Sharon Salyer Herald Writer Providence Regional Cancer Partnership is joining a growing national movement to add one-on-one services to help guide patients through diagnosis and treatment. Nationally, more than 300 cancer treatment programs now have patient navigators, said Dr. Roland Garcia, a program director at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md. "The reason it's popping up so fast is that doctors and patients love it," Garcia said. "What the navigator does is reduce or eliminate the barriers. It helps you navigate the cancer care system." The American Cancer Society administers 84 of these patient navigator programs. Other groups sponsoring similar programs include the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, he said. Still more programs are being funded through two federal studies now under way to determine how valuable these programs are in patient care. The American Cancer Society's first patient navigator program in the Puget Sound region was launched two years ago at the Swedish Cancer Institute, said Rachel Kirk, a regional executive program director for the organization. Since then, programs have been added at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Harborview Medical Center in Seattle is adding the program and Seattle's Virginia Mason is considering it, she said. With a cancer diagnosis "there is so much to navigate," Kirk said. Where do you go to the next doctor's appointment? Where are they located? There's a lot of information that needs to be processed." A cancer diagnosis isn't just emotionally overwhelming, Garcia said. It can also be confusing. "You'll meet three to four doctors in one day. You won't remember their names. You'll remember one guy with a beard, another guy has bad breath and a third person for some other reason. But you will not know what they're doing or what advice they're giving you or who they are," he said. Navigators try to eliminate a wide range of barriers for cancer patients, Garcia said, such as how to pay for the treatments. They explain medical jargon and sometimes coordinate transportation to medical appointments. "It's not the silver bullet; it doesn't cure cancer," he said. "But it goes a long way to reducing the pain and suffering … due to cancer." Herald reporter Sharon Salyer at 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.

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