Clinical Outreach Initiative
The Cancer Care Access Program (CCAP) holds on-site cancer outreach clinics at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) staffed by a Dana-Farber clinical team, including a Physician Assistant, Nurse Director, Patient Navigator, Genetics Counselor, and Research Assistant. Clinical services include:
- Cancer screening
- Diagnostic workups and follow-up care
- Reconnection to cancer care
- Referrals for second opinions
- Genetic cancer risk evaluations and testing
- Cancer survivorship care
- Provider and community education
- Patient navigation
Primary care providers at outreach clinic sites can refer adult patients with:
- New, existing, or past cancer diagnosis
- Benign hematology diagnosis (neutropenia, anemia, clotting disorders, thrombocytopenia)
- Breast issues (abnormal mammography studies, lumps, pain, or discharge)
- Any worrisome (cancer-related) symptoms without clear cause (lumps, bumps, bruises, weight loss)
If a patient has an active cancer issue, the CCAP navigates them to Dana-Farber and/or another cancer facility for further care. For benign issues, the CCAP connects patients to specialty care for follow-up. The program’s goal is to reduce differences in cancer diagnosis and treatment for local communities by:
- Decreasing wait times for diagnosis and treatment of cancer
- Increasing awareness and knowledge of cancer prevention and treatment
- Fostering trust with providers and patients
- Creating a research cohort of patients for observational and interventional studies
- Increasing enrollment of patients in clinical trials
- Creating a model for addressing the health differences gap in cancer care
Community-Focused Patient Navigator Program
The CCAP’s Clinical Outreach Initiative demonstrates the benefit of community-based cancer care and patient navigation services and strengthens the need to expand services across Dana-Farber sites. In continuation of this work, the CCAP developed a centralized, evidence-based patient navigation model that embeds Patient Navigators into Dana-Farber’s cancer treatment centers to support adult medical oncology patients from local communities. The goal is to proactively address the barriers that patients face to attending their medical appointments and adhering to cancer treatment plans through care coordination, physical accompaniment, and resource provision. The program is active at Dana-Farber’s Longwood Medical Area and Chestnut Hill locations in areas such as Breast Oncology, Cutaneous Oncology, Gastrointestinal Oncology, Genitourinary Oncology, Gynecologic Oncology, Lymphoma, Melanoma, Multiple Myeloma, Sarcoma and Bone Oncology, and Thoracic Oncology, with plans to expand across the clinical enterprise and additional Dana-Farber care locations.
Cancer Screening Ambulatory Safety Net
The CCAP, in collaboration with local community hospitals, operates a patient navigation model designed to support patients’ timely completion of cancer screening and connection to specialty care. The program is staffed by an Oncology Nurse Navigator and a Patient Navigator from Dana-Farber who provide patients scheduled for cancer screening with comprehensive education and connection to resources to mitigate the risk of missed or delayed procedures and/or tests. Currently, the program focuses on colorectal and lung cancer, with plans to expand to breast and prostate cancer.
Cancer Research
The CCAP fosters a supportive, inter-disciplinary environment for cancer care access research. Research objectives include:
- Forming a research cohort from the local community accessible to researchers from Dana-Farber and Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) for observational and qualitative studies
- Engaging communities in conversations about cancer clinical trials for populations who have historically lacked access