The Susan G. Komen Nebraska Affiliate® has awarded a $66,717 grant to the University of Nebraska Medical Center that will provide volunteer navigators to help women in Douglas County with breast health questions and concerns get appropriate early detection, treatment and follow-up breast cancer advice and breast health services.
The program is looking for women who could benefit from the services provided by the free program at any Douglas County or Council Bluffs medical facility.
In 2013, The Komen Nebraska Affiliate’s local fundraising efforts, such as the Komen Nebraska Race for the Cure®, have enabled it to fund grants totaling $638,969 to support several Nebraska breast health education and breast cancer screening and treatment programs.
At UNMC, the grant from Komen Nebraska will support the ongoing training of volunteer navigators to accompany women being evaluated for, or undergoing diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer.
Navigators, who accompany women to appointments anywhere in Douglas County or Council Bluffs, 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.
Navigators have completed a rigorous training course that focuses on breast cancer care guidelines supported by the latest medical research and national experts, as well as how to effectively communicate with patients and health providers.
For the past two years, $121,518 in grant funding has helped train 20 navigators and provided services to many women seeking help.
The program is the only one of its kind in the nation, said Edibaldo Silva, M.D., Ph.D., UNMC surgical oncologist and director of the navigator program.
Linda Briggs, a breast cancer survivor and navigator in the program, wants to help women make informed decisions. “No in-depth information was given to me to explain the process or the findings before my surgery. I agreed to surgery with fear driving the decision that I made for myself. I chose to be a navigator due to my past experiences. I am now in a position to help other women to seek ‘best practice’ medical care.”
For more information or to request a navigator’s assistance, go to www.nebraskabreasthealthnavigator.org or call 402-559-8883 or e-mail info@nebraskabreasthealthnavigator.org.
Susan G. Komen is the world’s largest breast cancer organization, and the Nebraska Affiliate is one of 120 affiliates on the front lines dedicated to ending breast cancer in their communities. Komen Affiliates fund innovative programs that help women and men overcome the cultural, social, educational and financial barriers to breast cancer screening and treatment.
Through world-class research and patient care, UNMC generates breakthroughs that make life better for people throughout Nebraska and beyond. Its education programs train more health professionals than any other institution in the state. Learn more at unmc.edu.
About Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and the Komen Nebraska Affiliate
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever, and in 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The Nebraska Affiliate is part of the world’s largest and most progressive grassroots network fighting breast cancer. Up to 75 percent of net proceeds generated by the Affiliate stays in the state of Nebraska. The remaining 25 percent funds national breast cancer research. For more information, call 402-502-2979 or visit www.komennebraska.org.
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