INDIANAPOLIS – Janice Leak, M.S.N., has been appointed as a nurse navigator at the St. Francis Breast Cancer Center of Excellence.She will assist breast cancer patients and their families in coordinating diagnostic appointments and physician visits, help them manage their symptoms, provide education, make patients aware of clinical trial availability and very importantly, easing patient anxiety.
Leak is part St. Francis’ team of nurse navigators with other nurses assigned to help patients with colorectal and lung cancers. In 2006, she became St. Francis’ first nurse navigator, serving patients diagnosed with oral and head and neck cancers.
A resident of Indianapolis, Leak is a nurse practitioner and earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Indiana University. She has held several positions in the 35 years she has worked at St. Francis, most notably as an oncology nurse and educator.
Leak has led and coordinated various cancer-related clinical, educational and patient support programs during her tenure at St. Francis.
She is on faculty for the nursing education program at Indiana Wesleyan University and has been a frequent lecturer at the University of Indianapolis and the IU School of Nursing. Leak also has held several leadership positions in the local chapter of the Oncology Nursing Society.
To learn more about the Cancer Services at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers, go to http://stfrancishospitals.org/cancer.
