The job description might read:

•    Friendly professional to be welcoming, caring and reassuring for new cancer patients at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center.

•    Ability to make people feel comfortable in a new and frightening situation and lessen their anxiety and fear.

•    Must be able to put self in another’s shoes.

For new Patient Navigator Sandy Stevens, her job means all this and more:  “One of my primary roles is to greet new patients and explain to them how we work.”

As a new cancer patient, there is an overwhelming amount of new information that patients must process – multiple physicians with different roles in their care plan, diagnosis, appointments, treatment, side effects, resources and support, etc. not to mention that they may not know enough yet to even know what to ask. 

Sandy’s role is to help them get acclimated and understand what will happen next. In addition to helping new patients get oriented, Sandy also helps in the cancer clinic setting with current patients.

“I want to ensure they have a good experience and help things run smoothly,” she said.  According to Sandy, having someone as a patient navigator is particularly important to cancer patients, who are already shell-shocked with the news of their diagnosis. 

Many may also be on unfamiliar terrain coming from another city or state to get the care available at the Brown Cancer Center. “This position really needs someone who is welcoming, open to situations and who genuinely cares about the quality of the patient’s experience,” she said.  “I want them to feel like ‘this person will help me.’”

Sandy said she tries to emphasize to her patients that “no question is dumb. If it is important to them it is important to us. I want them to know that they can call me or any of the Brown Cancer Center staff – anyone, anytime for anything.”

Sandy, a Louisville native and mother of four children, received her nursing degree from University of Louisville, and has previously worked as an oncology nurse in both pediatric and adult settings.

“I love working at the Brown Cancer Center – it’s an amazing place," she said. "From the moment I walked in for my interview at the cancer center, I was impressed with how kind and caring everyone was – not only to the patients but to one another. It’s really a family atmosphere. They really know these patients so well and they know what’s going on in their lives. They really care.”

As for Sandy, she said her ultimate goal with her patients is "to have the patient feel like they are glad to be here, confident we will take good care of them, and feel comfortable to call us." 

She added: “It’s gratifying for me to see someone come in and you can see how scared they are but, when they leave, they are visibly more relaxed, more ready to begin their journey.”