Judy Bouchet had a chronic sore throat that lasted nearly one year before she was diagnosed with esophageal and pharyngeal cancers. The double diagnosis was devastating.

“When something like this happens, your brain is scrambled, everything is new, and you are juggling a maze of appointments and treatments, while not feeling well,” she said. Dawn Elliott, her patient navigator, got involved immediately, providing tremendous comfort.

“Dawn was like my team captain,” said Judy, “telling me to reach out with any questions, big or small, and she always got right back to me. It was so nice to have that go-between because sometimes you don’t want to bother the doctor.”

Patient navigation services are offered free of charge to all patients at the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center, thanks to funding provided by The Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara. “I thought this was the norm until I spoke with a friend receiving cancer care elsewhere; she was not getting anything close to this level of attention and oversight.”

“Words alone cannot express how grateful I am for everyone who participated in my care and I feel my ongoing recovery is in no small part due to the attention and skill of all the doctors and other competent professionals who worked together to save my life.”

“Dawn was like my team captain,” said Judy, “telling me to reach out with any questions, big or small, and she always got right back to me.”