Navigating a Daunting Cancer Landscape With an Oncology Nurse

One patient describes her nurse navigator as one she could turn to at a time when she was receiving cancer treatment away from home.

Judy Davis, my nurse navigator during the seven months of cancer treatment I received, made me feel like I mattered and was not going to fall between the cracks at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland. This was all in addition to receiving care through Dr. Werner and the senior nurses who took blood draws on Wednesday chemotherapy days before my sessions.

I was living at my sister's home and getting care out of state after a Georgia craniotomy, so it was nice to have a nurse to call and actually get results or questions answered so I can be on the same page as my advocate (sister). Judy Davis had answers for me and also helped me during an emotional crisis several times. Bless her heart. Everyone at that center deserves kudos. I hope my next team in Michigan is as swell as Anne Arundel Medical Center.

Editor’s Note: This is an essay submitted by Francieska Boyko for the 2021 Extraordinary Healer Award. Click here to read more about CURE®’s Extraordinary Healer® Award for Oncology Nursing event on April 30, 2021.

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