Nurse navigators empower cancer patients on their healing journeys
For individuals receiving a new cancer diagnosis, the process is anything but simple. It can feel overwhelming, chaotic and full of unknowns. But throughout these patients’ journeys, nurse navigators ─ like Becky Aurand, RN, MSN, BS ─ are there to lend a helping hand, expert guidance and a listening ear.
Aurand is one of 12 oncology nurse navigators at MultiCare Regional Cancer Center who support patients from their initial diagnosis through treatment and survivorship. As a navigator, she helps patients stay on track as they balance specialist visits, treatments and new medications, along with the whirlwind of emotions that the process can bring.
“Chemotherapy isn’t easy on patients,” Aurand explains. “Often, the side effects can be crippling, and side effects are cumulative, meaning they can get a little worse each time.
“Sometimes patients just don’t feel well, so they call and want to cancel for the day. Part of the challenge is, once they’ve started treatment, we don’t want to have a gap if we don’t need to — we’re doing our best to have as much efficacy around treatment as we can. If we skip treatments, there’s always a possibility the cancer can catch up.”
That’s why nurse navigators step in, doing everything possible to keep treatment moving forward. Sometimes this includes explaining a diagnosis in terms patients can understand, calling in between appointments to check in, coordinating procedures and treatments and providing emotional support when things get overwhelming.
By walking alongside patients and their loved ones on this journey, navigators like Aurand ensure people have the best experience possible. What’s more, studies have shown that oncology navigation improves patient outcomes, shortening the time from diagnosis to treatment, increasing patients’ understanding of their diagnosis and improving overall quality of life.
Donor support helps navigators address barriers to care
Part of helping patients through treatment involves identifying potential barriers to care, including lack of transportation, financial insecurity, language difficulties and more. After an initial consultation, Becky partners with social workers and other specialists to bridge the gaps.
“A cancer diagnosis comes at the most inordinate times,” Aurand explains. “A patient may have just gotten a job, or they may end up losing their job because of the cancer diagnosis, and they may need a place to live or groceries. We meet with patients on an individual basis and look at where they’re at and then try to figure out how we can not only help them, but also empower them.”
Thanks to generous community donations, the cancer center has a fund that can help pay for medications not covered by insurance, provide transportation to and from appointments, purchase durable medical equipment and sometimes even support housing needs.
Recently, a patient with cancer who was experiencing severe pain was able to use fund proceeds to access prescription medication.
“I called the pharmacy and worked in conjunction with the patient and their spouse to get the fund to pay for a month’s worth of the patient’s long-acting morphine,” Aurand says. “That was their biggest stressor, and they both left knowing that they no longer had to worry about this patient’s pain.”
Dealing with cancer is never easy, but MultiCare nurse navigators like Aurand hope their work allows patients the time, space and energy to focus on what matters most — their physical and mental health.
“I can’t imagine a cancer center without navigators,” Aurand says. “We are sometimes their family. We are their social life. We are all they have time for.”
At MultiCare Health Foundation’s Rock the Foundation event on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, attendees will raise funds to support vital cancer programs and services — including training and education for nurse navigators — so patients can access the highest quality care close to home. Learn more and register today at the Rock the Foundation event site.
