Cancer support

As part of our comprehensive approach to cancer care, we offer a wide range of additional resources and services to help you feel supported throughout your cancer journey.

A nurse navigator is an experienced nurse that will be a companion to you throughout your treatment. The nurse navigator will help you by answering your questions, connecting you with useful resources and coordinating your appointments with the appropriate physicians. Our navigators support you in your unique situation during and after your cancer treatment journey.

Cancer rehabilitation is a specialized type of rehabilitation therapy that combines nutritional support with cancer-specific exercise therapy. In the cancer rehab program, you have the opportunity to meet with a registered dietitian that will provide you with nutritional resources and advice specific to what your needs will be during and after your cancer treatment.

You may also have several sessions with an exercise physiologist who will create an individualized exercise regimen to aid you physically and psychologically. Patients that participate in this program experience several benefits, such as decreased fatigue and nausea. They also report increased balance, control, range of motion and quality of life.

Ogden Regional Medical Center, a MountainStar Healthcare hospital, is home to the first official cancer resource center in Utah. It was established through an exclusive partnership between the American Cancer Society and our hospital.

American Cancer Society Cancer Resource Centers provide up-to-date information about individual cancer treatment options and other resources available to patients. If you want to take proactive steps to prevent cancer from returning, you can research online information about cancer at the center at no cost. You will also find valuable literature from the American Cancer Society.

Patients who have a higher risk of cancer due to their genetic makeup may consider taking preventive measures to reduce their risk. Our genetic screening programs can help you understand your risk for cancer by providing genetic counseling and a personalized risk assessment.

If you are interested in learning more about your risk for cancer, or your doctor thinks you are at high risk, you can be referred to genetic counseling services for a consultation with a certified genetic counselor.

The counselor will work with you and your healthcare provider to:

• Help you decide if genetic testing is right for you
• Evaluate personal and family medical history
• Facilitate risk assessment genetic testing for you and your family members
• Provide you with support and guidance throughout the testing experience
• Develop a plan tailored to your specific needs that may include recommendations for ongoing surveillance and preventive measures
• Disclose genetic test results and discuss recommendations

Genetic testing for cancer

Genetic testing for cancer gives you the knowledge to help you proactively screen for the likelihood of developing certain cancers. Although many cancers are not genetic, some cancers occur because of hereditary conditions passed on from generation to generation.

Scientists have identified several genes that, when altered, can increase an individual's risk of developing a variety of cancers, including cancer of the breast, ovaries, uterus, pancreas and colon. If you or your family has a significant history of cancer, you may be at risk for a hereditary cancer condition.

You may be at risk for hereditary cancer if your family has experienced:

• Breast and/or ovarian cancer in a family with Jewish ancestry
• Early onsets of cancer, usually 50 years old or younger
• Family member with a known genetic mutation
• Invasive serous ovarian cancer diagnosed at any age
• Medullary thyroid or adrenocortical cancer diagnosed at any age
• Melanoma diagnosed before 40 years old or in multiple members on the same side of the family
• Multiple cancers in a family in more than one generation
• Multiple cancers in one individual, such as bilateral breast cancer
• Multiple family members with the same type of cancer
• Pancreatic cancer with breast or ovarian cancer present on the same side of the family
• Rare or unusual cancers, such as male breast cancer
• Triple negative breast cancer (ER–, PR–, HER2–pathology) before age 60