WAILUKU - In this world of high-tech medical treatments and complicated insurance paperwork, the voice of the cancer patient can go unheard.

Doctors, nurses and social workers are often too busy to sit and really listen to patients' fears, quandaries over treatment options and practical problems such as arranging for transportation to make appointments. They may be told "your family can help you" when in fact the next of kin may not be equipped to do so effectively.

There is no one particular specialist assigned to help patients "navigate" the system, according to Kathleen Mumford, Maui Community College nursing instructor in the Allied Health Department.

"They (cancer patients) have all these questions," she said noting that one in three people get cancer. "They have nowhere to go."

Mumford believes it is time to train people for that medical specialty and is leading the Cancer Patient Navigator Training course at MCC in the fall semester.

The way Mumford sees it, the navigator is part of the evolution of health care. When her mother was a nurse, they mopped the floors, emptied bed pans and administered IVs, said Mumford, who is a registered nurse. Since then, housekeepers and other positions have been added, and "this (the patient navigator) is one more of these jobs" that can enhance treatment and care, she said.

The course will teach students to be cancer patients "traffic directors . . . with a long list of resources." Students will depart the course with a portfolio containing information from helping patients get bus or plane transportation to finding the right medical team.

This is the second year MCC is offering the class, which is a three-credit elective. Mumford pointed out that none of the six students who completed the first training found navigator jobs - because there are currently none to be had on Maui, though jobs are emerging on the Mainland. Representatives of Maui medical facilities told students last year that they would love to have navigators but cannot create the new position in the current economic downturn, she said.

Still, this course has much to offer nursing and social worker students, who make up the current rolls of the upcoming class, she said. Mumford is also interested in educating volunteers who could assist nonprofit organizations such as the American Cancer Society and those family caregivers burdened with helping their loved ones go through the process "from diagnosis to treatment plan to acceptance whether it is survivorship or end of life."

"It is my personal belief that one in 10 persons would benefit from this course by getting the key ingredients for helping a loved one live life 'their way,' supporting each individual's choice," she said in an e-mail.

The navigator could empower patients, who "will feel better about their choices . . . calmer in their decision making," added Mumford in a phone interview Monday.

A critical element to doing the job is being able to do "active listening," she said. A third of the course is devoted to teaching students "how to listen" and to formulate questions during an interview.

Another section covers the investigation of cancer and using Internet searches to gather information on the different kinds of cancer, treatment options and locations of medical facilities. The last part of the course gets students acquainted with local agencies that could offer assistance to the patient, including visits to local facilities, virtual tours of Oahu facilities and interviews with agencies that offer counseling and financial support.

The Pacific Cancer Foundation has a grant that will assist students in getting navigator experience through internships, she said.

Given the current economic situation, Mumford needs at least 10 students to offer the class. She currently has eight, six social worker and two nursing students.

The course begins Aug. 25 and runs 16 weeks, meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m.

For more information, call counselor Maggie Bruck at 984-3560 or to register for the course call 984-3500.

* Lee Imada can be reached at leeimada@mauinews.com.