Monica is in her 60’s and has advanced cancer. She lives at home with her husband who also has a life-limiting illness. Although Monica was still able to manage day-to-day living without requiring much support, the medications were making it increasingly more difficult for her to “think straight”.
Adding to the uneasiness brought on by her diagnosis was her frustration with the patchy nature of healthcare services in the rural community where she lived. Anticipating a decline in her health, Monica joined the Nav-CARE program hoping that a volunteer navigator would be able to support her in her journey. In particular, she was hoping that the Nav-CARE program would fill a void since she did not have family who lived nearby.
When reflecting on her time with the program, Monica was pleased with the professionalism of the volunteer navigator.
“I had a question about one of my therapies and the volunteer navigator researched the topic for me and consulted with professionals in that field and she was able to get me the information I needed to make an informed decision.”
Despite not using the services of the volunteer navigator to the full extent that she had anticipated because her health remained stable, Monica still felt strongly that the safety net provided by Nav-CARE was instrumental in relieving much of her worry and anxiety.
“It was just knowing that there was somebody there that I could call who would help if I needed help, just knowing, not that I ever had to ask for it, but just knowing that it was there if I needed it was very, very comforting for me.”
Nav-CARE 