Women’s Health and Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among women. The nurse navigator role is expanding rapidly. Navigating nurse is proficiently knowledgeable about breast diseases. Patients who received nurse navigation services responded positively to satisfaction surveys indicating that nurse navigator roles decreased barriers to care while increasing patient satisfaction .The impact of a cancer diagnosis can lead to depression, anxiety, fear and cognitive defects. The concept of patient navigation is defined by its founder, Harold Freeman, MD, as interventions initiated in cancer care for the purpose of reducing barriers to timely screening, diagnosis, treatment and supportive care. A navigating nurse of the breast cancer patient and her family is in understanding and coping with the strong emotions that accompany a breast cancer diagnosis. The navigating nurse is a triage manager in assessing patients’ educational and social needs and appropriately referring to the proper source of help. Navigators roles are: Assess to identify high-risk patients (physical, psychological and social), plan healthcare pathways with multidisciplinary care team, coordinate care with other team members, provide education and support for patient and family and monitor patient’s total response to care for optimum outcomes. Patient navigation effectively improves timely follow-up in elderly patients by addressing barriers related to choosing, understanding and using health coverage, providers and services; making decisions about treatment and managing conditions and care received by multiple providers.