What Is Patient Navigation?
Patient Navigation is a guiding support service that helps you and your loved ones better understand and manage the challenges that often come with a complex healthcare diagnosis, such as cancer.
An Patient Navigator helps you stay informed, organized, and prepared as you move through the different stages of care.
It’s having someone who helps you understand what’s happening and what to do next. They help you make sense of the information, get ready for appointments, and stay on track through each step of your care. They’re also there to support you through the fear, stress, and uncertainty that come with a diagnosis and your treatment journey. Most importantly, they make sure you don’t have to figure it all out on your own.
How Navigation Services Can Help
For decades, many leading cancer centers have used navigation services because they help patients and their loved ones. Some of these services include:
Understanding the Impact of Your Diagnosis & Treatment
A cancer diagnosis is life changing and can affect every part of your life. We help you understand how treatment may impact your daily routines, relationships, work, and overall well-being, so you can better prepare for what’s ahead and make decisions that feel right for you.
Emotional Support
A cancer diagnosis affects more than just your medical care. It can bring anxiety, fear, uncertainty, stress, and emotional exhaustion for both patients and loved ones. Navigation provides compassionate support throughout the journey, giving you someone to talk to, helping you feel less alone, and offering guidance during some of life’s most difficult moments.
Improve Communication and Decision Making
We help you feel more confident communicating and making decisions about your care. We support you in expressing your concerns, values, and priorities, while also considering how your family, work, and daily life may impact your choices. We also provide simple tools and language to help you have clearer, more productive conversations with your care team and loved ones.
Organizing Information
We help you keep everything in one place so it’s easier to manage and understand. We track your appointments, tests, and treatments, help you stay on top of your care plan, and create simple systems so your important documents are organized and easy to find when you need them.
Preparing for Appointments
We help you feel more prepared and confident going into every appointment. Together, we clarify what matters most to you, create a thoughtful list of questions to ask your care team, and organize your test results, reports, and notes so everything is easy to review and understand.
Navigating the Healthcare Journey
Cancer care often involves multiple doctors, appointments, tests, and treatments, which can quickly feel complicated and overwhelming. Navigators help you better understand the cancer journey, make sense of the process, stay organized, and feel more prepared for what comes next. They provide guidance and support every step of the way so you can move forward with greater clarity.
Connecting You to Local Resources
We help connect you with trusted community resources that can support you along the way. Whether it’s support groups, local services, or additional care programs, we help you find the right resources for your needs.
Our Navigators Provide Support Designed to Complement Your Healthcare Team.
NavigationOnDemand provides ongoing access to expert guidance and support, whenever you need it. Sometimes a single conversation can provide clarity. Other times, ongoing guidance can make all the difference.
Many turn to NavigationOnDemand when they are:
- Newly diagnosed and needing to understand next steps
- Trying to make sense of the cancer journey and what to expect
- Managing family responsibilities alongside a cancer diagnosis
- Preparing for important oncology appointments
- Struggling to keep up with multiple doctors, appointments, tests, and treatments
- Helping a loved one stay organized during treatment
- Feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information and logistics involved
Cancer care can be complex but navigating it shouldn’t feel impossible.
NavigationOnDemand is built on the belief that every patient and caregiver deserves access to experienced guidance, compassionate support, and clear information throughout the cancer journey.
“You quickly realize that managing cancer care can feel like a full‑time job. Having someone help guide you through it would make the journey far less overwhelming.”
-Roger D., Patient
During a NavigationOnDemand Session, You Can Expect:
- A compassionate, judgment-free space to talk about your situation
- An experienced and professionally trained and certified patient navigator and advocate who listens carefully and focuses on your priorities
- Practical guidance to help you prepare, plan, and stay organized
- Clear, plain-language explanations of common processes and terms
- Concrete next steps you can take before your next appointment or decision point
- Sessions are conducted virtually, so you can connect from home or wherever you feel most comfortable. You can choose to include family members or caregivers in the conversation if you wish.