Specialties
New Patient Support
If you have just been diagnosed with cancer, it is a difficult time. We want to provide you and your loved ones with additional information and support to help you prepare for your first visit with your doctor and the beginning of treatment.
Peer navigators are survivors who have been trained to be “cancer coaches.” They will provide information on your disease and treatment options, resources to help you and those you love, and problem-solving and coping strategies. If desired, a peer navigator can go with you to your doctor’s visit or treatments. A peer navigator can be assigned to you for three to six months.
Our patients tell us . . .
“The information that was provided to me was exactly what I needed to feel less anxious and scared when I met with the surgeon.”
“It has been so reassuring to have someone with me during treatments who has survived cancer and who can help me on this journey. I don’t feel so alone.”
Support for breast cancer patients
The WeCARE Community-Based Breast Cancer Peer Navigator Program provides this special support on a one-to-one basis. It matches newly diagnosed breast cancer patients with breast cancer survivors.
The WeCARE Program is available to any newly diagnosed breast cancer patient, regardless of where she received treatment, and to breast cancer survivors who completed their treatments at least two years ago and meet other requirements.
Support for all cancer patients
Other newly diagnosed cancer patients also benefit from this special support on a one-to-one basis through the WeCARE Peer Navigator Program. Currently, we have peer navigators in bladder, colon, brain, lung and prostate cancers and are actively recruiting and training peer navigators for other types of cancer.
How to get started
You can begin the process of becoming a peer navigator by contacting Patricia Robinson at (916) 734-0823. For more information or to be assigned to a breast cancer peer navigator, please call Lea Spencer at (916) 734-5786.
If you have another form of cancer, we have a wide range of supportive services and resources to help you and your family and friends, so please call Patricia Robinson at (916) 734-0823 for more information.