A number of doctors in Madison County could diagnose breast cancer and describe that specific moment, but few health-care professionals have the vantage point that Janell Burk does.

Burk’s title at Saint John’s Cancer Center is “breast cancer navigator,” and she guides the newly diagnosed through everything that happens before and after the diagnosis.

“In the Women’s Center here, we do the biopsy, but the results are not displayed for two or three working days,” Burk said.

“Where I come into play as the navigator is, I direct the patient back to the doctor to get the results. ... The ordering doctor will send her to a surgeon. At that point, the surgeon will tell the patient her options.”

Burk said that sometimes the doctor will offer the patient a day or two to decide the treatment. Once the patient has chosen her path, Burk again steps into the process. And things begin to move fast.

“I call the patient and ask if they have their follow-up appointment and results, and ask if there’s anything they need,” she said.

What they might need -- and don’t know it -- is a binder full of information that covers the entire process, much of it not even relevant at the moment.

“I tell them, ‘This is overwhelm you. Do not look at every pamphlet I give you. You’ll need all of them along your journey, but don’t read everything now.”

The two she suggests concern questions for the doctor and post-surgical exercises. The rest deal with what tests mean, understanding the pathology report, things to watch for, background on the doctor involved, etc. She also discusses a breast cancer survivor support group that patients may join.

Burk said the most important thing for her was to explain things so that each patient could understand. And that’s not always easy.

“Everybody understands at different levels.,” Burk said. “Sometimes what you have painted in your mind is much worse than what it really is, and sometimes it’s the opposite.”

Emotions can run the gamut, she said, but she tries to keep patients focused on what IS instead what MIGHT be.

“Most (patients) are nervous,” she said. “Some are tearful. Some get a little angry. It’s a very emotional time for them, because we all think, if we’re told we have cancer, we’re going to die. But that’s not the case with breast cancer.

“Now, it’s not 100 percent curable, but it’s in the 90-percentile range, if we catch it early. If we can diagnose at an early stage, breast cancer is very curable and very livable. It’s not a death sentence.”