Patient Navigator Based At Parma Hospital's Cancer Center Steers Patients To Resources

For a patient facing a diagnosis of cancer, managing the medical condition is only half the battle. Ask Melissa Davis, an American Cancer Society patient navigator who for nine years has been guiding patients to resources and programs that will help them understand and better cope with their disease. One of 16 patient navigators established by the ACS in Ohio, Davis covers Cuyahoga and Lorain counties. Best of all, she is now based at the Cancer Center at Parma Hospital.

“I am available to anyone who has a cancer issue,” says Davis who can help patients and their family members find resources for financial assistance, medication needs, home health care, insurance questions, transportation and understanding their diagnosis.

There are so many lives she has touched, helping patients shoulder their burden. When a 54-year-old man with lung cancer needed transportation to radiation treatments, she found numerous local resources and even coordinated with a local church to deliver a bed so he could remain comfortably in his home.  For a 50-year-old woman with breast cancer, Davis found a national co-pay assistance program, a local home maintenance and repair program and directed her to Reach to Recovery, an ACS program specifically for those facing breast cancer.

And when a 47-year-old man with pancreatic cancer needed assistance finding accommodations in New York City, where he sought treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, she linked him to counseling and support groups in Manhattan and even directed him to a national program to assist with mileage reimbursement.

The American Cancer Society has more patient navigators in Ohio than in any other state. Each patient navigator aims to handle at least 600 unique patient calls per year. While covering two of the most populous counties in the state, she strives to return calls in 48 hours or less.

“The patient navigator will only enhance the personalized care that Parma Hospital’s physicians and nurses provide,” says Alisa Mazzarella, manager of the Cancer Center at Parma Hospital.

To reach Melissa Davis, call the American Cancer Society’s toll-free number at 888-227-6446, ext. 8052.