Draft — Cancer Institute — Oncology Patient Resources

• You find out there is a possibility of cancer.
• Your primary care physician will fax a referral to us or you can refer yourself by calling us at 208-359-9848.
• A Patient Navigator or Nurse Navigator will walk you through a series of questions that will help us gather your previous Doctor notes, scans (MRI, CT, PET, Mammogram), labs (blood, genetic testing), & previous treatments to put the parts of your story together.
• Dr. Shiven Patel and Lesley Goulding NP  review your information and develop a plan of care.

• An appointment is set up to review the plan of care between you and the providers. You are welcome to tour our clinic and infusion center and get to know us at any time. You may want a “Meet & Greet” before your first appointment. Coordinate with the Nurse Navigator 208-359-9848.

• After the plan of care is made, your care will take a course tailored to your situation.

 It may include:

• • Further testing if needed
  • Chemotherapy; It may be given before surgery to shrink the tumor and/or after. You may get a port before treatment, use an IV or take an oral pill.  It will take a little time to get preauthorization for medication or chemotherapy with your insurance. You will get chemo education before being given chemo so that you know what to expect and prepare for.
  • Seeing a specialized surgeon; We work with local surgeons and specialized surgeons at Huntsman Cancer Institute depending on your needs
  • Radiation treatments to shrink the size of the tumor before or after chemotherapy/surgery. 
  • Palliative Care; Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. It may include medical care for their symptoms along with or not including treatment intended to cure their serious illness. It includes extra care, extra education and personalized care.

• We start gathering information about your care as soon as we get a referral. 
• Gathering information can take a day or weeks depending on the number of providers we are reaching out to, where they are, and how fast they return our requests.  Feel free to call us if you are wondering where you are in the process. 208-259-9848.

• If you have copies of scans, labs or notes, send them our way. Fax: 208-359-6489 
• If you are reaching out and we are reaching out to previous providers it seems to speed up the process. 

• You have a nurse practitioner or experienced oncology nurse available via phone or text 24/7. We want to help troubleshoot after-hour symptoms. Ask the nurse navigator for the after-hours number. 

• You have access to labs via the Patient Portal. Ask a receptionist how to sign up for the Patient Portal. A nurse or nurse practitioner usually calls and gives you recent test results that may have resulted after your last appointment. Feel free to call us if you haven’t received a call and were expecting it. You can also fill out a medical record request form and we can email you the results or you can pick up a paper copy at our front desk. 

• HCI Education 
• Cancer.org
• Cancer.gov
• Cancer.net
• CancerCare.org
• More questions? Give us a call 208-359-9848