There are times the oncology navigator’s voice is the first one a person hears after a cancer diagnosis.
“They’ve gotten the worst news, but it’s our role to offer hope and help,” said Valencia Daniels-Delaughter, whose 22-year career in healthcare includes the last seven in a navigator’s role at Memorial. “Cancer affects everyone in the family and we’re there to work out the details of what comes next.”
After that initial interaction, Daniels-Delaughter makes sure patients get in for appointments quickly, alerts them to available resources, and ensures supplies and medications are received. She also routes them to other Memorial professionals, including social workers, dieticians, and insurance experts. “I do whatever is necessary to limit the frustration of those impacted by the disease,” said Daniels-Delaughter, who works with gastrointestinal cancer patients and families. “Sometimes they just need to know we’ll be there to answer the phone.”
