Liver Cancer
Case Management
Managing your cancer diagnosis and treatment is your top priority right now, as it should be. However, many practical responsibilities that go along with a cancer diagnosis must be addressed, even though they may not feel important in the whole scheme of things. Your case manager can help you navigate these responsibilities, reducing or eliminating your stress and allowing you to focus on healing.
What is Case Management?
Case management is a typically free resource designed to help manage the practical issues related to a serious illness such as liver cancer. These issues are considered barriers to care because they can prevent you from receiving the best care and services available.
A case manager will be your link to overcoming these barriers. Your case manager may be a social worker, financial counselor, nurse or some combination of these areas of expertise. Acting as your personal advocate, they will draw on their professional experiences as they collaborate with health care professionals and non-medical personnel.
Alan Balch, PhD, Chief Executive Officer at Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF), understands the value of helping patients find solutions to the problems they face during treatment.
“Our case management program is a process of directly assisting patients and their caregivers in finding and securing appropriate resources or dealing with specific barriers. In our experience, the areas in which patients need help most are transportation, paperwork and finding financial assistance to cover various costs.”
Financial concerns are understandably some of the most common with cancer care. They make an already stressful situation even more difficult. That added worry can affect you emotionally and physically, which isn’t good for your health.
Your case manager can help you carefully review your insurance policy so you know the rules and procedures to follow and what treatments are covered, including the items covered by Medicare Parts A, B, C and D. This is crucial information in regard to treatment options, and you are encouraged not to make these important decisions until you’ve looked into the financial resources that are available. This applies to you even if you are uninsured or underinsured.
Fran Castellow, MSEd, Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF), believes no patient should have to struggle with financial obstacles alone.
“Our expert case managers work alongside the patient or caregiver to identify solutions to problems surrounding insurance, medical debt and many other challenges, as well as helping them better afford their out-of-pocket costs.”
You may also have medical questions that do not require the attention of a health care professional. While your health care team focuses on your treatment and side effect management, your case manager can assist with practical needs. Those may range from screening and assessment to care coordination, discharge planning and transportation.
Your case manager can even help with the indispensable services surrounding end-of-life needs. If you choose to be at home at this time, a case manager may be available to arrange for door-to-door transportation from the medical facility to home, and ensure a hospice company, necessary equipment and a nurse are on site before you arrive. The goal is to help you feel secure and comfortable, surrounded by people who care, in the last moments of life.
Next Steps
Not all hospitals or treatment centers have case management programs, but they may have someone who takes on that role. Ask about this resource soon after you receive your diagnosis. If your care team does not have a case manager on staff, request a referral. You deserve all the resources you can get.
Once you connect with a case manager, keep the lines of communication open. Share contact information with each other and decide on the best way to keep in touch, such as through texting, phone calls, emails or a health care portal. Introduce your caregiver or loved ones to broaden that circle of support.
Realize that case management comes in many different forms. Your case manager can help you with a very specific and short-term need. Or, you may have a long-term need, and you can begin working with a case manager right after diagnosis and continue to benefit throughout treatment.
Lastly, how you choose to use this valuable resource is based on your needs, but you can take comfort in simply knowing it is available.
