patient navigation can lead to better breast cancer care in high-risk women and minorities

patient navigation can lead to better breast cancer care in high-risk women and minorities -

patient navigation, or the sequence of a cancer patient newly diagnosed with a professional trained to help patients if the complex journey of diagnosis and treatment of cancer, can lead to better breast cancer care among high-risk women and minorities. The results, recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology , is the first national study to show a relationship between browsers and initiation of some recommended treatments for breast cancer.

Using data from a previously published multicenter study funded by the National Cancer Institute, the researchers aim to identify the potential benefits of assigning sailors to women patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer. According to the results, women were more likely to start treatment when recommended assistance by one of these trained specialists. For example, they were more likely to start hormone therapy, which is considered the gold standard in the treatment of some types of breast cancer.

Naomi Ko, MD, MPH, professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology-Oncology at the University School of Medicine in Boston and a breast oncologist practicing at Boston Medical Center, emphasizes the need for more investigation depth. "This study has given us a glimpse of the potential benefits of patient navigation, but there is much more research to do. At this point, we still need to understand how or why the patient navigation work. Understanding where the patient navigation is most beneficial in the treatment of cancer, to help the poorest patients, is a rich topic for future research, "said Ko.

Navigators are experts help patients overcome the many obstacles they face, including money problems, transportation problems, education and even language barriers, and have become an integral part of cancer care model. It has been known that minority patients and high risk, or those who can benefit most from these browsers, often have poorer outcomes after a diagnosis of cancer.