For women diagnosed with breast cancer, and who have a limited understanding of English, the breast health navigators are in place to help.
“I believe I make things happen for the benefit of the patients,” said Agueda Fernandez-Webster, Latina breast health navigator for CHI Franciscan Health.
The health navigator’s job is to recruit under-served, under-insured and uninsured women to get free mammograms. Health navigators also help guide them through the health system.
There are four breast health navigators in Pierce and South King County. They each focus on one to four minority groups including Latina, Pacific Islander, Samoan, Korean, Thai, Cambodian, Vietnamese and Laotian.
Fernandez-Webster’s job is to help Latina women with mammograms and breast health. She’s a Washington state-certified medical interpreter as well as a translator. As part of the services of her position, she also provides transportation for the women to get to medical appointments whenever needed.
Fernandez-Webster has worked as a health breast navigator since October 2009. How many patients she has at a time depends but she usually accompanies six to 10 women to mammograms each month. She sees the breast cancer survivors every three months or on a weekly basis, if the woman is doing treatment. However, she’s always busiest in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Norma, one of Fernandez-Webster’s patients, didn’t find out she had breast cancer early enough. Agueda became emotional as she talked about her.
By the time Norma went to the hospital, her lump was painful and too big. She had come to the U.S. illegally; even though she had a passport, she had no visa to enter the U.S. She traveled from Guatemala to the U.S. by walking and taking buses.
After seven years in the U.S., she was caught by law enforcement officials when she happened to be out with someone else who had a warrant for that person’s arrest. Norma ended up in jail awaiting deportation.
However, due to her breast cancer, the judge allowed Norma to remain in the U.S. for one year so she could get treatment.
“I became her second mother here,” Fernandez-Webster said of Norma.
Fernandez-Webster wanted to make sure that Norma saw her family again. It had been seven-and-a-half years since Norma had last seen them.
She, and her former supervisor Tricia Sinek, worked hard to make that happen. Sinek worked with Dianna Kielian, senior vice president of Mission, and Sandy Wentz, Kielian’s assistant, to find the funds for the trip. Fernandez-Webster was overjoyed for Norma when the funds became available for her to travel home. At age 40, Norma had never been on a plane.
To leave for Guatemala, Norma had to get her papers from the immigration office. When Fernandez-Webster took her to the Homeland Security offices, immigration department, Norma was afraid she was going to be deported right there. But Fernandez-Webster told her, “I’ll fix it, don’t worry.”
They successfully got Norma’s papers for the trip.
One week before they were going to leave, the two of them participated in the 5K Komen walk, along with Fernandez-Webster’s husband who volunteered to push Norma in her wheelchair.
“Everybody wanted to push Norma,” she recalled.
Norma had fun and had never seen anything like it. She said, “Oh look at those guys wearing tutus” and exclaimed over the pink bras and all the participants.
When it was time for Norma to go to Guatemala, Fernandez-Webster accompanied her to Texas. Norma completed the rest of the trip by herself and spent two months with her family in Guatemala before she passed away at the age of 40.
Norma’s brother called Fernandez-Webster the next day to tell her.
“By the same token that I lost Norma to breast cancer, I have other patients who have survived,” Fernandez-Webster said.
To increase survival, yearly mammograms are recommended, along with monthly self-examinations. Fernandez-Webster said, “Your breasts are there to be taken care of” and that’s why it is important to have mammograms.
For more information about the breast cancer navigators, call 253-426-6746.
