Patient Advocacy
Who is your advocate?
Unfortunately, when you are feeling your worst is when you must be your most diligent. The battling cancer war includes a few small skirmishes along the way. No matter what your battle plan you should have help in the form of an advocate.
Here are just some of the reasons why.
1. Inputting information:You’ve just been diagnosed with cancer and you’re being overloaded with new terminology and massive amounts of information. Your advocate will be taking notes in the doctor’s office, at the clinic and anywhere you are introduced to new information. You can sit back and let your head spin.
2. Health care decisions: Post op, as you struggle with your nasogastric tube is not the time to wonder what your doctor said about treatment options, or where your notes are on side effects of that new pill you took or to hope you have the strength to surf the web for information. Your advocate can help you sift through information, do research and assist you in making the best decision possible for your care.
3. Your barrier: The health care advocate is the person who stands between you and the world. Your advocate is the person who gets up and approaches that intimidating clerk in the waiting room and reminds them you have been waiting an hour. They will also block the door to your room when you are napping and someone wants to scrub your floor. Enough said.
4. Mistakes happen: No one likes to discuss mistakes, especially not your caregivers. But as long as there are humans, there will be human error. Your advocate has your medical history and can double check every pill brought to you and every IV bag that is hung.
5.Dealing with red-tape: The maze of insurance and hospital bureaucratic regulations is overwhelming when you feel 100%. Let your advocate play phone tag and chase paperwork from simple pre-qualification details to following up insurance payments.
6. The squeaky wheel gets greased: Here’s a little secret from the nurse’s break room. The patient with the annoying friend who keeps pushing the call button for pain meds exactly when they are due, is likely to get the nurse’s attention first. I’m not saying this is fair but then again, the cancer patient already knows life is far from fair.
7. Hand holding: There is much to be said for the simple human touch. Consider how much time passes in the typical hospital day without human touch–real human touch, not clinical touch, as though you were inanimate. The simple squeeze of a hand communicates far more eloquently and contributes more to your recovery than words.
How to Find an Advocate:
Consider who you trust and who you would be willing to be an advocate for if roles were reversed. Sometimes several close friends are willing to share your advocacy.
Additionally there are professionals whose job is patient advocacy; these include private duty nurses. They’ll put your needs first because they are being paid to. Ask you hospital social worker or doctor if they can recommend someone.
Tina Radcliffe spent ten years as a Oncology Certified R.N. working with in-patients on oncology and med-surg units. She also has a background in home health and geriatrics. Her other experiences include ... .. 
