cancer nurse navigator
A cancer nurse navigator is a registered nurse, who guides cancer patients and their loved ones through the health care and cancer treatment process. Now that I had my first R-CHOP treatment in the hospital, it was time to get on a set regimen of treatment.
I was scheduled to visit the oncology clinic about a week after being released from the hospital. I saw the doctor, and we’ll talk about that more specifically in another post. When I saw the cancer nurse navigator, we discussed the entire treatment plan, and also addressed any concerns I might have.
The plan was to give me 8 cycles of the R-CHOP therapy. Each cycle would be given 21 days apart, as is common for this type of chemotherapy. I would be given my second treatment at the clinic, 21 days after my first treatment in the hospital. The nurse then gave me a tour of the chemo treatment area.
The room was filled with reclining chairs, where patients would sit back while receiving chemo. This is because, some chemo treatments can take 8 hours or even more, depending on the type of cancer and the patient involved. The cancer nurse navigator also introduced me to the rest of the oncology staff, and I even met some of the other patients.
After the tour, we went back to her office, and continued discussing treatment details. One thing the “cancer nurse navigator” mentioned, was the fact that, chemotherapy normally causes extreme nausea, hair loss, weight loss, and a whole bunch of other side effects. She also told me what the best foods to eat where, when experiencing nausea from chemotherapy. And, we talked about the importance of nutrition when going through cancer treatment.
All in all, the visit was very helpful. The nurse was extremely friendly and very knowledgeable on the treatment of cancer. And, she was very good at addressing my concerns and explaining everything so I could understand it. So, I would say that, my first visit with the cancer nurse navigator was very productive and enjoyable.