Oncology Nurse Navigation Team at Centra's Alan B. Pearson Regional Cancer Center
Let Us Be Your Guide: How Patient Navigators Can Help

For patients and loved ones dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis, it can suddenly feel like your world has been turned upside down. We know that cancer doesn’t just affect the patient, but their whole community. From choosing a treatment plan to the everyday struggles of recovery, it’s common to feel scared, overwhelmed, or alone - no matter what your support system looks like. Sometimes we all need a little extra help as we navigate the difficulties in life - that is where Patient Navigators come in. We recently reached out to Navigators across the state for some great expert advice.
Metastatic Breast Cancer: Signs, Symptoms, and Hope

Coming right on the heels of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, November was Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) Awareness month in Virginia. MBC is when cancer that begins in the breast spreads, or metastasizes, to another organ system and starts causing cancer in a new area. MBC can be “de novo” when the person’s first breast cancer diagnosis is metastatic disease, or recurrent breast cancer, a second breast cancer diagnosis that is caused when dormant cells from the first cancer reactivate and cause disease again. Recurrent metastatic breast cancer doesn’t get a lot of attention, either in the press or in research. We talk about the importance of early detection, but is that enough when it comes to increasing survival rates? The short answer is no.