NAVIGATION PROGRAM
Our combined experience as cancer patients and caregivers has helped the ASCF team develop a roadmap of support services for cancer families, from Houston and beyond, who depend on us to guide them through the, often, overwhelming continuum of care. Our trained staff and volunteer navigators are a trusted source to help prepare, advocate, facilitate communications, provide access to much-needed resources and to be a comforting extension of a cancer family.
What Navigators Can Provide
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Note taking in a clinic appointment, during a surgical update, with insurance representative, hospice or other professional
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Serving as a liaison or “go between” for the patient/caregiver and someone who provides a service to the family (clinical or otherwise)
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Helping patients and families identify where options are for diagnosis, treatment, second opinion, hospice, place of worship or other service provider
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Helping patients, families, friends to know how to access the resources available to them (i.e. how to get a referral to a medical facility)
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Helping patients/families/friends to know how to find their way around the Houston area, where to park, where to stay, how long appointments may last, how long to expect to stay in Houston, etc.
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Sitting with families/friends while a loved one is having surgery, lending an ear to listen or being a sounding board
What Navigators Can Not Provide
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Serve in a professional healthcare capacity
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Provide medical advice or opinion
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Offer or provide clinical services
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Drive patients to appointments or other treatments
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Serve as certified medical language interpreters