Mission

Kentucky CancerLink,
Inc. (KCL) provides support to Kentuckians by reducing and/or eliminating
barriers to screening, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.KCL certified patient navigators (PNs) utilize their patient navigation skills to assist Kentuckians in overcoming barriers to receiving cancer screenings or staying in cancer treatment. The need for this assistance in Kentucky ia great: Kentucky has a cancer problem, with the highest incidence of new cancers and highest death rate in the US for all cancers combined, ranking #1 in the US in lung cancer incidences and death; #1 in colon cancer incidences and #4 in deaths; and ranks higher in breast cancer and cervical cancer deaths than the national average. Cancer screening tests help find cancer at an early stage, when survival rates are greater. PNs assess each individual's barriers to obtaining cancer screenings or cancer treatment. PNs engage with individual patients one-on-one, often including their caregivers, family members, social workers and healthcare professionals to create solutions to financial, practical and social challenges. Challenges/barriers may include: cost of screenings, inadequate health insurance coverage, lack of transportation to appointments, language barrier, low literacy, little education, lack of childcare, fear, misconceptions/beliefs related to healthcare. KCL’s programs support primarily uninsured/underinsured Kentuckians with a household income at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level. KCL also collaborates with programs offered by healthcare providers, associations, and government entities who may have similar eligibility requirements. Collaborations include access to no-cost/low cost evidence-based cancer screenings for lung, colon, breast, and cervical cancer, access to supplies, services, and other types of assistance to cancer survivors during and following cancer treatment.