Navigator for Cancer Patients Joins WMHS

Pictured with Joyce Dorsey at the WMHS Regional Cancer Center is Brent Thornton, our new patient navigator. Brent can be reached at 301-723-6380 or by email at bthornton@wmhs.com.

When patients diagnosed with cancer walk through the doors of the Western Maryland WMHS, they may recognize a familiar face greeting them for their next treatment and asking if there is anything the patient needs. The face belongs to Brent Thornton, an American Cancer Society patient navigator working with WMHS to offer patients and their families a guiding hand as they weave their way through cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Thornton, a lifelong resident of Cumberland, is an employee of the American Cancer Society, spending each weekday meeting and welcoming cancer patients at the WMHS. Once patients walk through the hospital's doors, Thornton helps them access a wide range of resources and services available through the Society and WMHS.

The American Cancer Society's patient navigator position, a first at the WMHS, is the third to be created in Maryland. Two other positions were created in the past year at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center and St. Agnes Hospital, both in Baltimore City.

"We are extremely pleased to work in cooperation with the American Cancer Society to have a patient navigator at the WMHS," said Joseph Gallina, Vice President of Clinical Support Services. "The diagnosis of cancer turns a patient's world upside down, and a patient navigator is a valuable resource for patients and their families."

Thornton helps patients and their families access the Society's free programs and services, including skin and hair care assistance to improve a patient's self-image through "Look Good…Feel Better" and transportation assistance to treatment through the "Road to Recovery" program and travel reimbursements for mileage.

"Some patients travel five days a week, up to 70 miles roundtrip each day for treatment. With the recent extremes of gas prices, the Society can offer the patients some relief with gas cards," said Thornton. "Patients can put the money saved on gas toward medicine and treatment costs."

Thornton also provides patients with information on WMHS offerings, such as a monthly support group and the services of a social worker specially trained support and counseling to cancer patients and their families.

The 35-year old navigator has been with the Society since mid-April and has already worked with 85 patients at the hospital. A medical social worker for about 10 years, focusing on geriatrics and oncology, Thornton saw the Society's patient navigator position as an opportunity for him to work one-on-one with cancer patients.

"Being a navigator allows me to assist patients in the Cumberland community who need help after being diagnosed with cancer," said Thornton. A friend of his family was recently diagnosed with advanced esophageal cancer, and the patient's family took comfort in speaking to Thornton at the hospital.

"My presence has made the family's journey with this cruel disease somewhat tolerable. I can not save the patient, but I can bring them and their loved ones hope and access to resources that may indeed save their lives," added Thornton.