Studying you may have metastatic breast most cancers (additionally referred to as stage IV or superior most cancers) may be overwhelming. You are having to course of your analysis and work out what’s subsequent.
That is the place nurse navigators and social staff are available in. They might help with all the things from managing therapy negative effects to explaining your invoice and discovering monetary help. Their roles are distinct, however there’s some overlap. Here is how they make your therapy journey a little bit simpler.
What does an oncology nurse navigator do?
Oncology nurse navigators are registered nurses (RNs) with particular coaching in most cancers care. They might help you:
- Higher perceive metastatic breast most cancers and your therapy choices
- Handle negative effects like nausea and ache
- Study extra about medical trials (research on medicine that haven’t been authorised but) and discover out for those who’re eligible
They’ll additionally refer you to nutritionists, bodily therapists, psychological well being professionals, and different sources.
What does a social employee do?
Social staff can:
- Assist with psychological well being considerations
- Clarify billing and insurance coverage points
- Join you with sources like transportation to and from therapy
- Assist you perceive work-related points like short-term incapacity
- Evaluation and renew purposes for monetary grants to assist pay for issues like drugs.
How do I discover monetary help?
Social employee Malia Opat and nurse navigator Kayla Terrell are a part of an interdisciplinary staff at The College of Kansas Most cancers Heart. Their group contains dietitians, monetary navigators, and psychologists.
When somebody has monetary considerations, docs can refer them to Opat, who helps them kind by what’s accessible and the place they will bridge the gaps.
“One of many issues I do is to see if (folks with metastatic most cancers) qualify for Social Safety incapacity,” Opat says.
Some folks may also have entry to short-term incapacity or Household Medical Go away Act (FMLA) choices by their employers. There are native and nationwide grants folks can apply for, in addition to fuel playing cards and drug reductions — all of which may make an enormous distinction.
Opat additionally lets folks learn about locations like Hope Lodge, which affords free lodging when therapy is way from residence. Run by the American Most cancers Society, there are greater than 30 Hope Lodges across the U.S.
The place do I get instructional and emotional help?
One of many challenges with any analysis is realizing what inquiries to ask. Terrell recommends sources just like the Nationwide Complete Most cancers Community (NCCN).
“It offers (folks) pattern questions that they could wish to ask once they see their docs,” Terrell says.
Terrell helps folks maintain their emotional well being by referring them to Turning Level, the most cancers middle’s free program for folks with most cancers and their households. They’ll study wholesome methods to handle most cancers’s psychological and social affect.
Navigating most cancers may be particularly difficult whenever you’re attempting to run a family and maintain down a job. That is the place telehealth performs a job.
“Individuals with younger kids actually discover telehealth visits to be an enormous assist,” Terrell says, as a result of they don’t have to go away the home or discover childcare throughout that point.
In the event you’ve been identified with metastatic breast most cancers, ask the physician about pairing you with a nurse navigator or social employee.