Nurse navigators guide cancer patients from diagnosis to recovery

A diagnosis of breast cancer is the beginning of a journey that isn’t just about the disease. When a patient is told they have cancer that’s when the questions begin — about treatment and doctors, payments and health care, and sometimes travel and living expenses.

Kalispell Regional Healthcare recognizes that moving through the cancer journey can be a difficult road. That’s why they provide cancer navigators to meet with patients and serve as “a teacher, a liaison, an advocate and a friend.”

Kim Grindrod serves as the breast nurse navigator and specializes in working with patients diagnosed with breast cancer. Sandy Shaw serves as cancer nurse navigator and works with a variety of cancer patients.

When a patient leaves the doctor’s office after being told they have cancer they can feel lost.

“I know they are getting lots of information,” Grindrod said. “I tell them to give me a call when they have questions. I will go back and explain the medical terminology. I’ll tell them what order the treatment will happen and what to expect.”

Shaw began the breast nurse navigator program at KRMC after having previously worked in a similar program in the South. Two years ago she left the position to expand the program and serve patients with other types of cancer.

“We’re here to make life a little bit easier for those with cancer,” she said. “We’re here to make sure they have a little bit less stress.”

Grindrod meets with patients during the initial phases of screening, often after an abnormal mammogram and before a biopsy has taken place to determine a possible cancer diagnosis. If a patient is diagnosed, she continues to be a resource through treatment and follow-up phases.

“I’m there for whatever they need,” she said. “I try to follow my patients as they go through the process of surgery or chemotherapy. Sometimes it’s just to say hello and remind them I’m there or I might sit in with them during their appointments if they want.”

As cancer navigators, Grindrod and Shaw’s roles vary, but often a part of what they do is coordinating patient care. They might make calls to ensure a patient gets appointments with the right doctors in a timely manner. Many patients come to the Flathead Valley from out of the area and also need help finding a doctor at home for the recovery phase.

After several years in the breast nurse navigator position, Shaw said she began to recognize the need for that type of coordination in dealing with other types of cancers.

“I could see that patients weren’t getting into the system in a timely manner,” she said. “How can you wait for three weeks to get a diagnosis? Patients need to know sooner. I see that as part of our job to close the gap.”

Cancer has impacts beyond the patient, as well. Family members might be the one’s who need answers and they can use Grindrod or Shaw as a resource. If a patient needs to find transportation or housing nearby, they can help.

“We have a whole cancer team,” Grindrod said. “We can find them a counselor, housing, a dietitian or help with finding financial resources.”

When it comes to breast cancer, Grindrod can direct patients to a network that includes a women’s cancer support group, a mentor program or the “Look Good ... Feel Better” program that teaches beauty techniques to women cancer patients to help them deal with the appearance-related side effects of treatment.

Both women say their patients are reason to come to work in the morning.

“They face amazing challenges and struggles,” Shaw said. “They fight that battle with such courage — there’s nothing they can’t conquer.”

For more information on the Breast Nurse Navigator program, visit online at www.kalispellregional.org.