April 2025 Vol 16, No 4

Navigation goes beyond just treating the cancer itself and includes addressing the patient’s physical, emotional, and social needs via a diverse team of healthcare professionals who collaborate to develop the best treatment plan for each patient.

Since the signing of the 1971 National Cancer Act, the United States has made remarkable progress in understanding and treating cancer, resulting in declining mortality rates—although these benefits haven’t reached poor and uninsured populations equally.

Patient navigation—provided locally in rural settings, in urban settings with programs designed to support rural residents, or a combination of in-person and virtual support through innovative programs—can enhance care delivery and mitigate the rural oncologist shortage while providing quality and culturally tailored cancer care.

Bispecific antibodies represent a promising advancement in cancer immunotherapy that simultaneously targets 2 different antigens to enhance immune response against cancer cells; however, their adoption shows significant disparities between well-equipped urban medical centers and underserved rural healthcare settings.

By integrating patient navigators into healthcare systems, expanding workforce training, and fostering meaningful partnerships, we can move closer to a future where health equity is not just an ideal but a reality.

Since its inception more than 3 decades ago, patient navigation has evolved to include multiple disciplines such as nursing, social work, financial services, genetic counseling, and nutrition, all working to address health equity through patient-centered care.

During last year’s AONN+ Midyear Conference, Carol Evans, CEO and executive director of SHARE Cancer Support, discussed how the organization serves diverse patients diagnosed with cancer.

Understanding the basics of what cancer care involves is foundational for oncology patient navigators. In the second installment of Navigation Refresh, we dive into the continuum of cancer care, cancer risk factors, detection, diagnosis, and treatment.

A CATCH is a navigation success story where a navigation tactic improved a patient’s situation. This month, we profile the experience of a navigator who coordinated staging scans for her patient to ensure they were completed the day before the patient had her oncology consultation.