Patient Navigator Services
Cancer Center Patient Navigators
You Are Not Alone
The time following a cancer diagnosis is difficult, and may be especially hard for non-English speaking patients from diverse backgrounds. The Cancer Center’s patient navigators serve as compassionate guides and a trusted source of information, support and advocacy. Their goal is to ensure that our patients are able to put all of their energy into getting well and that they receive the most advanced care from our medical providers.
Christina Ho (right), our Chinese Patient Navigator, can help to…
- Guide patients through the maze of the health care system and make connections with BIDMC resources and services
- Assist with finding financial support for patients without health insurance or with limited benefit
- Assist in the completion of forms and applications for various services
- Organize treatment services
- Assist with coordination of follow-up care
- Provide referrals and information about community resources and services, including American Cancer Society programs
- Provide American Cancer Society patient education materials
- Arrange interpreter services when there is a language barrier
- Serve as a liaison between the patients and the medical team
- Bridge the gaps due to cultural or linguistic barriers
- Provide emotional support and assist with family coping
Support Programs
In addition, the navigators conduct support programs:
The Support Group for Latinas with Cancer is held the first Monday of each month in the smaller conference room on the tenth floor of BIDMC’s Shapiro Clinical Center, 10 Binney Street, Boston. The group is facilitated by fluent Spanish speaker Ana C. Marin. More information: 617-667-3429.
The Look Good … Feel Better Bilingual Program meets the third Monday of every other month from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. in the smaller conference room on Shapiro 10. This free, non-medical program conducted in Spanish, English and Mandarin/Cantonese is designed for women who are in cancer treatment. For more information and registration: Call the American Cancer Society at1-800-277-2345.
Tea Time is a bi-weekly support group meeting for Chinese women with any kind of cancer. It is held from 3 - 4:40 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of each month at the AstraZeneca Hope Lodge Center, 125 South Huntington Avenue, Jamaica Plain (accessible from the Green line E route; get off at Heath Street). More information: 617-667-3436.
Questions?
We recognize that other patients may also have questions and need assistance identifying and accessing community resources, entitlements and possible benefits. For further information, please call Katie Boyle, Community Resource Specialist, at 617 667-4626.