FALMOUTH – Maine Cancer Foundation recently awarded four capacity-building patient navigation grants, totaling $550,840, to organizations across the state. These three-year grants will develop and support cancer patient navigation programs, assisting patients throughout Maine in navigating their cancer care.
It is predicted that 10,700 Maine residents will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Cancer patient navigation is an invaluable resource, guiding patients through their journey, helping them access the best care, identifying resources like financial support and transportation, and ensuring patients and their families are aware of all the support available to them. Navigators can also play an important role in increasing access to cancer screenings, making sure patients know what screenings they may need and helping to address any barriers to those screenings.
To ensure Mainers have the best access to cancer screening, treatment, and survivorship care, MCF has invested over $3.1M in the last ten years to better understand and improve cancer patient navigation.
The most recent 2024 grantees include:
Beth C. Wright Cancer Resource Center – Downeast Cancer Patient Navigation Across the Continuum of Care, $164,000
The Beth C. Wright Cancer Resource Center will implement a patient-centered cancer navigation system in Washington and Hancock Counties. This program will coordinate prevention, early detection, and treatment efforts, ultimately reducing cancer rates and barriers to care in this region.
Cancer Resource Center of Western Maine – Cancer Resource Navigator, $102,500
The Cancer Resource Center of Western Maine will expand its resource navigation program to meet the growing needs of the western Maine cancer community by increasing navigation and social work capacity, building a volunteer program, and launching an educational campaign dedicated to reducing the impact of cancer in this region.
Maine Primary Care Association – Patient Navigation: a Pathway for Improving Patient Outcomes, $164,340
The Maine Primary Care Association and Maine Medical Association Center for Quality Improvement are partnering to enhance patient navigation services across community health centers in Maine. Using the American Cancer Society’s Leadership in Oncology Navigation model, the project will provide staff training and create a community of practice for sharing best practices. This initiative will reach staff at 19 health care sites throughout the state, developing a blueprint for reducing cancer and mortality statewide.
MaineHealth dba Maine Medical Center – Cancer Genetic Patient Navigation, $123,000
MaineHealth’s Cancer Genetic Patient Navigation program aims to improve access to cancer genetic risk assessment and counseling in Maine’s rural Midcoast region. By offering navigation, care coordination, and telegenetic services, the program supports patients and at-risk family members, fostering cancer prevention, early detection, and better outcomes. This effort, part of the Cancer Risk and Prevention Program, seeks to reduce cancer incidence and mortality statewide.
“Hearing the words ‘you have cancer’ has a profound impact on an individual, their family, and their entire community. Cancer patient navigators are there to help lessen the burden,” said Katelyn Michaud, MCF’s director of programming. “Maine Cancer Foundation’s investments in this area help patients understand what resources are available and feel supported in their journey, so they can focus on their own care.”
MCF is on track to award over $2.5 million in grants to organizations across Maine in 2024. All funded programs support cancer prevention, early detection, and improved outcomes statewide.
The Maine Cancer Foundation is dedicated to reducing cancer incidence and mortality rates in Maine. MCF leads a statewide effort to advance the most promising and effective cancer-fighting efforts available to the people of Maine through a combination of grant-based financial support and coalition building. For more information about the Maine Cancer Foundation please visit www.mainecancer.org.
