Meet our Clinical Breast Navigator
Theresa Hayden RN BSN OCN- CSW, Clinical Breast Navigator
732-557-2317
Theresa Hayden RN BSN OCN- CSW, clinical breast navigator, describes her role as a "GPS" for patients – guiding them and helping them every step of the way.
She puts patients in touch with financial and transportation resources, schedules appointments with physicians, makes appointments for additional testing and more. "When a patient has a cancer diagnosis, there's a lot of moving parts in their treatment that need to be pulled together. Couple that with the fact when a patient gets a diagnosis, they're in shock and don't know what to do next. That's when a navigator becomes helpful."
Working closely with surgeons on staff at Community Medical Center, Theresa follows patients through the process, including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. She's involved in developing a patient's survivorship care plan, an interdisciplinary effort involving everyone active with the patient's care. She helps breast cancer survivors with follow-up appointments and educates them on the side effects of treatment. Theresa is also involved with the hospital's Tumor Board – where physicians of different specialties come together to evaluate a patient's case to recommend the best treatment approach.
