Studying you could have metastatic breast most cancers (additionally known as stage IV or superior most cancers) might be overwhelming. You are having to course of your prognosis and work out what’s subsequent.
That is the place nurse navigators and social staff are available in. They may also help with every little thing from managing remedy unwanted side effects to explaining your invoice and discovering monetary assist. Their roles are distinct, however there’s some overlap. This is how they make your remedy journey a bit of simpler.
What does an oncology nurse navigator do?
Oncology nurse navigators are registered nurses (RNs) with particular coaching in most cancers care. They may also help you:
- Higher perceive metastatic breast most cancers and your remedy choices
- Handle unwanted side effects like nausea and ache
- Study extra about medical trials (research on medicine that haven’t been accepted 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 remedy
- Provide help to perceive work-related points like short-term incapacity
- Evaluate 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 workforce at The College of Kansas Most cancers Middle. Their group contains dietitians, monetary navigators, and psychologists.
When somebody has monetary considerations, medical doctors can refer them to Opat, who helps them type by way of what’s obtainable and the place they’ll 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 additionally have entry to short-term incapacity or Household Medical Depart Act (FMLA) choices by way of their employers. There are native and nationwide grants folks can apply for, in addition to gasoline playing cards and drug reductions — all of which might make an enormous distinction.
Opat additionally lets folks learn about locations like Hope Lodge, which provides free lodging when remedy is way from house. Run by the American Most cancers Society, there are greater than 30 Hope Lodges across the U.S.
The place do I get academic and emotional help?
One of many challenges with any prognosis is understanding 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 medical doctors,” Terrell says.
Terrell helps folks care for 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 influence.
Navigating most cancers might be particularly difficult if you’re attempting to run a family and maintain down a job. That is the place telehealth performs a task.
“Folks with younger youngsters actually discover telehealth visits to be an enormous assist,” Terrell says, as a result of they don’t have to depart the home or discover childcare throughout that point.
In the event you’ve been recognized with metastatic breast most cancers, ask the physician about pairing you with a nurse navigator or social employee.
