O’Reilly Center Patient & Family Resources

Our oncology nurse navigators work closely with patients and their families to provide not only cancer care, but personal support resources as well. Our nurses serve as advocates for you, translating hard-to-understand medical information into more friendly language, making the whole experience more manageable.
 

With their specialized training, our nurse navigators are integral members of your care team. They facilitate individual, patient-centered care from the moment of diagnosis to survivorship. They provide every patient with:
 

• Customized resource information
• Educational materials on cancer
• Access to social workers, dietitians and chaplains
• Recommendations for other Mercy services
• Access to local community resources

Your Nurse Navigators:

• Breast cancer: Jennifer Ames
• GI cancers: Melissa Harrington
• GU cancers: Jayme Johnson
• Blood/GYN cancers: Amanda Ledgerwood
• Lung cancer: Tiffany Hensley
• Head and neck cancers:  Jason McAdoo

Different nutritional concerns may arise throughout treatment, like weight change. To help address your concerns, a registered and licensed dietitian is available. All dietitian services will be provided at no cost to O'Reilly Cancer Center patients. Our oncology dietitians provide:
 

• Guidance on how to maintain weight during radiation and chemo
• Healthy eating education for patients interested in changing their diet
• Weight-loss education for those looking to lose weight after treatment
• Therapeutic diet education for cancer patients with diabetes, reduced kidney function and difficulty swallowing
• Diet education for GI-related cancers and diets
• Information about nutrition concerns

Your Dietitians:

• Connie Rizzo
• Ashlyn Anderson

When a person gets a cancer diagnosis, there's a lot of focus on their physical well-being: treatments, side effects, appointments and tests. But we recognize that cancer affects all other parts of life as well, such as self-image, work, family, friendships and quality of life. Our oncology social workers understand these issues and are available to help you virtually or in person at no extra cost.

Our professional social workers play a big role in helping patients, families and caregivers deal with cancer. They're well-educated and ready to assist with the psychological, social, emotional and spiritual issues that arise in the face of a cancer diagnosis. Our social workers are there to help not only with practical needs, but with more complex ones as well, such as:
 

• Adjusting to illness
• Dealing with transitions and decision-making
• Navigating sensitive cultural issues
• Communicating with family members, friends and care teams

Working closely with patients and families, our social workers also lead support and educational groups, while working as core members of your oncology care team.  

Your Social Workers:

• Cynthia Zuch
• Shawna Gulick