When it comes to making meaningful progress in improving the outcomes for people of color with cancer, it’s crucial to work at the community level and meet these patients where they are.
Josette Gbemudu, the Executive Director of Health Equity at Merck, one of the biggest players in the field of oncology, told Survivornet that it’s imperative for vulnerable communities – people with low income, those from racial and ethnic minority groups – to have the information and tools they need to navigate the complicated system.
Read MorePatient Navigators Help Remove Critical Barriers
A patient navigator is someone who assists patients throughout their cancer journeys, such as after a diagnosis and during treatment. They can also help people navigate finances, get to and from appointments, and more. And when people in these communities may already be dealing with limited income and transportation barriers, this extra support can be invaluable during what can be an incredibly stressful time.“Who do I go to? How do I navigate that? Are there insurance barriers that you may be experiencing? And so patient navigation at the very rudimentary level has been something that we’ve seen have impact on patients,” Gbemudu explained.
“It’s allowed us to be able to help patients access timely care in a way that otherwise wouldn’t typically happen,” she added.
Screening is a particular area of needed focus. “That is literally the first step” in the cancer care journey, she said.
“We’ve also really focused on what do we need to do to enable, once again, all populations to get access to screenings, whether it’s breasts, whether it’s cervical, whether it’s prostate. Thinking about those barriers and working with partners once again to really address those barriers,” she said.
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