Oncology patient navigator means “giant step forward” for cancer patient care

As a relatively new patient of Dr. Raymond Washington (general surgeon) and Dr. Todd Moore (medical oncologist), I am in the midst of treatment for breast cancer. My husband and I chose Moore Regional Hospital for my care because of my desire to be close to home and because of its excellent reputation in terms of patient care.

"Once I met with Dr. Washington, I was delighted to learn there would be a patient navigator, Lynn Agee, R.N., who would walk with me through some confusing, even scary steps in this process. She is a gem!"

Lynn has interceded on my behalf when I had concerns or questions about procedures or had more questions after an appointment that didn’t occur to me when I was with the doctor.

Cancer is especially worrisome to someone like me who has no family history. Because surgeons like Dr. Washington care about their patients beyond the procedures they are involved with, the overall recovery process is enhanced by utilizing another staff person who can walk patients through unfamiliar territory, allaying fears and offering support when our busy doctors are doing their jobs unencumbered by thoughts of dozens of patient phone calls that need to be returned promptly when the patient navigator could frequently deal with those concerns.

I commend FirstHealth for offering this service to patients and their families, and I hope it can be extended to other areas of patient care. If healing in whatever way is the goal of patient care, this is one giant step forward. -Mary

The oncology patient navigator is funded through FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital and the Cancer CARE Fund of the Foundation of FirstHealth.