Cancer institute tries to make patients’ sad stories happier
The reasons why some cancer-stricken families seek public support when times get tough can turn Teresa Gomez's day into a crying spell. But in the short five months she's spent as a "patient navigator" for the Nevada Cancer Institute, one story haunts her.
"They all make you cry,'' she said earlier this month inside Starbucks at the corner of Lake Mead and Rampart boulevards. "But the one cancer patient that sticks out the most to me was an elderly released from a local hospital completely homeless. He had just undergone cancer treatment and had nowhere to go.''
Through a deal with a Las Vegas auto shop owner the man was allowed to sleep inside a car outside the business as long as he watched over it in the evenings. One night the man passed out, Gomez said. A customer found him the next morning.
People seeking help through the Nevada Cancer Institute's Patient Navigator program tell similar sad stories to Gomez every day.
The program links cancer patients and their families to community resources when they can't meet next month's rent or utility bill or don't have the funds to travel out of state for much-needed treatment.
Those resources also include emotional support, access to treatment and government aid, and referrals.
In situations in which people may not meet criteria or qualify for public assistance, the cancer institute can utilize funds from its Patient Cares Committee Fund. The fund benefits from grants, state appropriations and anonymous donors, agency officials said.
A committee of eight determines, on a case-by-case basis, a family's need.
"We do have caps on the amount given to families,'' said Lazara Paz, manager of health education programs for the Nevada Cancer Institute. "Ultimately, though, our goal is to assist the individuals so that they are able to get back on their feet. The patient cares fund is our last resort.''
The patient navigator program has four navigators in Northern Nevada and two in the south. In the last five months the program has nearly doubled its patient assistance, Gomez said.
In November and early December more than 60 people signed up for assistance.
Though about 40 percent of those seeking help through the program are patients of the state's flagship cancer research institute, assistance is available to Nevadans with cancer regardless of where, and by whom, they are being treated.
"This service is not just for our patients,'' Gomez said. "They come from Sunrise (Hospital and Medical Center), Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, and Nathan (Adelson) Hospice Care. We get them from everywhere.''
In most cases it is the cancer patients themselves who need help, she said. But sometimes family members or designated caregivers of cancer patients need assistance, Paz said.
Parents of children with cancer also may be in need of support because they can't work while their loved one is undergoing treatment.
"This isn't always just about money,'' Paz said about the program. "Some families need emotional and mental counseling. Some just need someone to speak to who are in the same situation they are in. That's what we do. We provide them with whatever support they need. Cancer is already difficult enough to deal with, and then add on the finances. It can be tough.''
For the elderly man who used a car for shelter, the program helped find him permanent housing.
"My heart just went out to him,'' Gomez said. "I couldn't believe that would happen to an individual, especially with cancer.''
Contact reporter Annette Wells at awells@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.
