Susan G. Komen® Nebraska has awarded the University of Nebraska Medical Center a $50,146 grant for 2015-2016 that will train 10 more advocates to help women get appropriate early detection, treatment and follow-up breast cancer services at any hospital or clinic.
The goal of the Community-Based Breast Health Navigation Services program, now going into its fifth year, is designed for trained lay navigators to accompany breast cancer patients during diagnosis, treatment and recovery. The navigators provide patients an advocate who can help them get breast cancer care which meets best practice standards set by National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).
The program is looking for women in the Omaha metro area dealing with breast cancer who could benefit from the free program, as well as those who wish to be volunteer navigators.
Navigators complete a 15-week rigorous training course that focuses on breast cancer care guidelines supported by the latest medical research and recommended by national experts. They also are educated on the most common questions patients have regarding how their care is carried out, but also provide advice when a recommendation may depart from best practice patterns.
“Our navigators advocate for women during the most difficult times in their lives,” said Edibaldo Silva, M.D., Ph.D., director of the navigator program and professor of surgical oncology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. “They are nurses, business women, teachers — many of whom have been through breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Navigators serve as a second set of ears for patients and advise them on the best approaches they have learned are needed to obtain breast care that matches best practice national guidelines.”
Komen Nebraska’s local fundraising efforts, such as the Komen Nebraska Race for the Cure®, have enabled the affiliate to provide the grant. The program is now supported in part by the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
For more information, contact Laura Campbell, navigator/advocate coordinator, at 402-559-8883 or e-mail info@nebraskabreasthealthnavigator.org or go to www.nebraskabreasthealthnavigator.org
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