Our 83-year-old father was diagnosed with tongue cancer and went through 8 weeks of chemotherapy and radiation as well as all the lead-up testing and treatment for skin cancer found on his arm during the initial blood draw. We are happy to report dad is currently cancer-free and in the process of being evaluated every 6-8 weeks as a precaution.

Sarah was an absolute God-send through the treatment process. Our parents are on a fixed budget and initially had financial concerns piled on top of the health concerns. One of the first things Sarah did was involve the social worker, T, who was another great resource and she was able to explain the deductible and maximum out-of-pocket expenses involved, which greatly reduced the stress and fear our parents were feeling.

Sarah supported our parents in all their needs throughout treatment, whether it be understanding the impacts of the treatments and what to expect, to helping with medications for pain and for less frequent nighttime urination. Tiredness was a major effect of the chemotherapy and because Sarah recognized that Dad's sleep was interrupted 5-6 times a night, she coordinated with his doctors for a compatible prescription which made an immediate and significant difference in improving his rest.

Dad lost 12 pounds throughout the treatment and he did not have to have a feeding tube, which we were advised is a fairly common necessity for head and neck cancer patients undergoing treatment. Sarah discussed problems Dad was having with eating and recommended foods to help boost the calories that he could tolerate. She learned by talking with him that he didn't want to eat because he could no longer taste and Sarah recommended lemon sours, Nerds, and Hi-chews before meals, which helped him to taste and helped him to keep eating.

After the skin cancer was found on his forearm, the doctors wanted it looked at because it appeared infected. Our town has limited dermatology specialists and Dad was having a hard time getting a callback and an appointment. Sarah helped coordinate the appointment with the recommended dermatologist and scheduled it around the rigorous chemo/radiation schedule in a fashion, which helped reduce the number of 40-mile round trips from out of town that Dad had to make.

On top of all this activity, our stepmother started showing tendencies of increased mental decline, likely exacerbated by the stress of everything new going on with the treatment protocol. Our stepmom started having huge mood swings, especially on chemotherapy days and began acting erratically. We are so thankful that Sarah could soothe, settle, and calm her miraculously. We relied upon Sarah to help communicate and keep straight the doctor's instructions and appointment times, which was no easy task with our stepmom's declining mental situation that often worked against us. Sarah had endeared herself to our parents and they both trusted and listened to her, which was critical to their ability to follow the treatment plan. Sarah is an absolutely wonderful nurse navigator and our journey would have been much more difficult without her. She is energetic, organized, and compassionate, not to mention an extremely genuine and nice person.