From underserved to well-served
Patient navigators are a lifeline to care
By Robert Levy
Cristina Moya stands in the Dana-Farber lobby with her children Ligia (center) and Ruddy.
In some respects, the most remarkable aspect of Cristina Moya's experience with breast cancer was her decision to seek treatment for it.
She had been diagnosed at a local hospital nine months later than she believed she should have been. By the time she arrived at Dana-Farber for her first appointment in early 2006, she was angry with the physician who had made the diagnosis and mistrustful of doctors in general.
Moya faced other obstacles as well. She was, by her own reckoning, depressed and fearful of a disease that had claimed the lives of her sister and grandmother. She knew little about the type of cancer she had, the treatment she would receive, or her odds of survival. And because she spoke no English, she felt intimidated by the healthcare system and isolated from fellow Spanish speakers who might understand her situation. At Dana-Farber, she sought trust as well as treatment.
Help arrived in the person of Rina Bernardez, a "patient navigator" at the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center (DF/BWCC). She met Moya on her first visit to DFCI and in the coming months became her indispensable guide to the world of cancer care, advisor on patient services, confidant, and, ultimately, source of hope.
Navigators help bridge cultural differences between patients and care givers.
"Rina explained a great deal about hospital procedures to me. She came to all my appointments," Moya remarked, speaking through Eneida Barros of Dana-Farber's Interpreter Services. "If I wasn't feeling well, I'd call her, and she'd arrange a conversation with my doctor. She scheduled appointments for me and told me about resources for patients."
Bernardez's support was emotional as well as logistical. "Any little question I had, I'd call Rina and ask her," Moya said. "When I first came for treatment, I was desperate and needed someone to talk to. Rina told me stories about patients who'd been in much worse shape than me and walked out healthy. She became a friend."
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