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When Jennifer Santerre got a cancer diagnosis her world turned into a blur.

“Because there’s so many different doctors and so many things going on at once that a lot of times you don't know where you’re going or your appointments are so overwhelming.”

A common lament of cancer patients: Juggling care concerns along with anxiety. It spawned the field of cancer navigators.

“They’ll actually go with you if you’re really, really emotionally . . . you know, not having an easy time with it,” Santerre says.

“We stay with them through their treatment and through their follow up as long as the patient is needing our resource,” explains Tammy Zinn.

Zinn is a breast health navigator with the Regional Cancer Center. She guides women to resources, lending support through their journey.

“The breast health navigator meets with the patient initially and does education about her diagnosis and then navigates them through the whole health system. We expedite appointments being made in a timely fashion. If the patient needs resources, we help them.”

Part social worker, part health professional and part friend. A rare combination, something you don’t find in a clinical setting. As treatment plans become more complex and medicine more specialized, there is a growing need for simplicity.

“I had nowhere to go. And no insurance and before I knew it I got a phone call,” says Santerre.

“Not having health coverage or insurance is not a reason to not get your breast health care needs met,” Zinn says.

Research suggests navigator programs increase access to care and may improve outcomes. A caring relationship for people in their time of need

View More Health Matters video segments at leememorial.org/healthmatters/

Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

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