Treatment nurse navigator supports patients through cancer care

A cancer diagnosis can be incredibly scary and overwhelming for patients and their families. There are new terms to learn, side effects to manage, appointments to juggle and fear of the unknown. And in many cases, patients are going through all of this hundreds or even thousands of miles from home.

That’s where Anh Huynh comes in. As a treatment nurse navigator in MD Anderson’s Thoracic Center, Huynh supports patients throughout their care while partnering with additional clinical team members.

“I’m helping them get to the right person, being a resource, a liaison, while also addressing any barriers to care, providing them with education, and advocating for their well-being,” she says.

A key member of the care team

MD Anderson has several types of navigators helping patients throughout their experience.

Pre-intake navigators help patients with incomplete referrals and educate uninsured and underinsured patients about their options.

Intake nurse navigators are assigned to a patient at referral and prep them for their first visit.

Treatment nurse navigators, like Huynh, help patients after their first visit and throughout their care.

Case manager navigators support patients and their families throughout their inpatient stays, from admission to post-discharge.

“Once the patient comes in for their new patient visit, I will get assigned to them as their treatment nurse navigator until survivorship, end of life, or if the patient decides they may want to resume care with their local team,” Huynh says of her role as a treatment nurse navigator.

MD Anderson continues to expand its navigation program while also empowering all team members to support patients and their caregivers during their experience with Caring conversations and resource support.

A nursing career focused on helping cancer patients

Huynh has worked in her current role for more than two years. But she’s been caring for cancer patients at MD Anderson for her entire nursing career.

Huynh first decided to pursue a nursing career after her sister became a nurse and her father got sick. “From that point forward, I knew pursuing a career in nursing was the right decision,” she says.

After graduating from nursing school at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Huynh completed her first nursing clinicals at MD Anderson – and she’s been here ever since then. Huynh started on the inpatient side, supporting patients in the Melanoma and Sarcoma unit, in a department helping teams prepare for different emergency events.

Now that she’s a treatment nurse navigator, Huynh does much of her work remotely. She was originally concerned about building strong relationships with her patients.

“I was scared to lose that connection when I started this role because I loved being a bedside nurse," she says. "But I think because we talk on the phone, sometimes for hours throughout their care, I feel like I know them more than I would if I just took care of them for a week. So, it definitely builds that rapport and that connection with my patients.”

Learning to ‘pivot’

Huynh isn’t only an advocate for her patients. She has also been a champion for her teammates and MD Anderson’s nurse navigation program.

When MD Anderson began its institutional nurse navigation program in September 2023, the navigation team was constantly “pivoting.” On the last day of Navigation training before go-live, the entire team surprised the Navigation director by making shirts that said ONN (Oncology Nurse Navigator) PIVOT. Huynh spearheaded and designed the shirts.

“These little moments are something that Anh loves to create for others,” says Clinical Administrative Director Natalie Sanchez.

Ensuring personalized care

Nurse navigators often manage a great number of patients, but that doesn’t stop them from creating meaningful relationships with each individual.

“It's a lot sometimes, and the majority of our patients are not from Houston,” Huynh says. “So, I can see the impact of navigation and the fact that a lot of patients will transition care to us just because they see the value in having a point of contact.”

One patient she works with had to relocate nearly 4,000 miles to MD Anderson for treatment.

“He said that he really values that he can reach out and give me a call, and I'll pick up, no questions asked,” she says. “Even if it's not something I'm in charge of, I will get him to the right person. He told me that he really appreciates that. It’s nice to know the impact a navigator can make.”

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