Q U A L I T Y
&
S A F E T Y
Every year 2,000 new patients are referred to the Provincial Cancer Care Program. A cancer diagnosis can be a frightening and confusing time. Patients are given a lot of information and have to make a lot of decisions. They are faced with a myriad of physical, emotional and practical daily challenges. Like Corinne, cancer patient navigators are highlytrained oncology nurses who work closely with a patient and their family, as well as with the patient’s family doctor, surgeon, cancer specialist and community partners, to provide information and help reduce the
stress of medical visits. Since assuming her new position in July, Corinne says she’s guided patients in a variety of ways. She provided one young man about to undergo chemotherapy with information on banking his sperm for future use and advised another in advance about the need for special authorization for one of his pain medications. She also reassured one woman that just because her type of cancer did not require treatment right away did not mean she was not receiving appropriate care or timely intervention. “Basically, what we do as cancer patient navigators is connect the dots for people, by providing information directly or directing them to others who can assist them,” says Corinne. “But it is also important to show them how to do things for themselves. Many cancer patients feel that a lot of decisions have been taken out of their hands, so it is important to engage them as a participant in their own care as much as possible.” “Your ability to cope with the diagnosis and treatment will vary based on the support system you have,” said Katherine Chubbs, Vice President of Cancer Care. “The cancer patient navigator will help our
Other achievements to improve cancer care include: • • • • •
30
A peer navigation project for breast cancer patients, developed through a grant from Health Canada Funding to begin a comprehensive breast screening database in collaboration with the Nova Scotia Breast Screening Program Community chemotherapy in the St. John’s area, which provides treatment to clients with a diagnosis of colorectal cancer who require 46 hours of continuous infusion chemotherapy Expanded home chemotherapy New equipment and diagnostic procedures, including a multi-slice CT simulator, four-dimensional scanning for lung cancer patients, and an Orthovoltage Treatment Unit to treat skin cancer