CANCER FAMILY NAVIGATORS​

ASCF provides cancer navigation services to families from Houston and out-of-town who are seeking cancer care in the Texas Medical Center. 

What is an ASCF Cancer Family Navigator? 
ASCF Cancer Family Navigators are volunteers trained to help guide families through the cancer journey. Our Cancer Family Navigators can help families successfully traverse the cancer landscape.  ASCF Cancer Family Navigators can help families make sure that they have the information they need in a format and language they can understand in order to be able to make educated choices regarding cancer care.  Visits with ASCF Cancer Family Navigators may be in person or over the phone and when appropriate correspondence may take place via email or text. 

Navigation Encounters can include:

• Note taking in a clinic appointment, during a surgical update, with insurance representative,  hospice or other professional.
• Serving as a liaison or “go between” between the patient/caregiver and someone who provides a service to the family (clinical or otherwise)
• Helping patients and families to know where there options are for diagnosis, treatment, second opinion, hospice, place of worship, or other service provider
• Helping patients, families, friends to know how to access the resources available to them (ie. how to get a referral to MD Anderson Cancer Center)
• Helping patients/families/friends to know how to find their way around Houston area, where to park, where to stay, how long appointments may last, how long to expect to stay in Houston, etc.
• Sitting with families/friends while a loved one is having surgery, lending an ear to listen or being a sounding board.

What do ASCF Cancer Family Navigators NOT do?

• Serve in a professional healthcare capacity
• Provide medical advice or opinion 
• Offer or provide clinical services
• Drive patients to appointments or other treatments
• Serve as certified medical language interpreters 

​Could your family benefit from having a Cancer Family Navigator? 
If you think that your family may benefit from having a Cancer Family Navigator, please fill out the Cancer Navigation Services Application.  You will receive a confirmation email once your application has been received. ​
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Cancer Family Navigation Application